Posted on 09/01/2005 6:36:23 PM PDT by nuconvert
IAEA finishes Iran report as EU readies UN push
Louis Charbonneau
Thu Sep 1, 2005
A report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog is expected to confirm Iran has resumed sensitive nuclear work, diplomats said, and EU officials meeting on Thursday were ready to take steps leading to possible sanctions.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is expected to deliver its latest report on Iran's nuclear program to 35 nations on the agency's board of governors on Friday or Saturday, diplomats close to the agency said.
The IAEA has been investigating Iran's nuclear program for almost three years. It has found no hard evidence to back U.S. allegations that Tehran is developing nuclear weapons but is not convinced Iran's atomic ambitions are peaceful.
The key element in the report from IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei will be confirmation that Iran has resumed work at a uranium processing plant at Isfahan, which Tehran mothballed under a November 2004 deal with France, Britain and Germany.
Iran insists its nuclear ambitions are entirely peaceful and has accused the EU of trying to deprive it of atomic energy.
"The report will not have a harsh tone, but it is expected to confirm that Iran ended part of the suspension," a European diplomat told Reuters. "It will also outline a number of open questions about Iran's nuclear program."
The report should say Iran's explanation that Pakistani contamination was behind traces of enriched uranium found on Iranian machinery is plausible, but also that questions remain about advanced centrifuge research that could be related to weapons activities and other issues, diplomats told Reuters.
Foreign ministers from the 25 EU states agreed on Thursday in Newport, Wales, that Iran should be referred to the U.N. Security Council if the IAEA finds Tehran's nuclear activities are not wholly peaceful, Sweden's foreign minister said.
"We agree that we must continue to state that if the IAEA is not satisfied with the result then it has to go to the Security Council," said Sweden's Laila Freivalds.
"But we don't think now is the time to discuss sanctions," she added.
STRAW URGES EU UNITY
In a letter before the meeting, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw urged EU countries to build a united front against Iran's decision to back out of a key part of the November 2004 Paris Agreement with the three biggest EU powers.
"We should take stock on Iran and discuss how we might best pursue the nuclear file over the coming weeks," Straw wrote.
The EU trio has tried for two years to persuade Iran to give up uranium enrichment to assure the world it is not pursuing atomic weapons. In exchange, the EU offered economic and political incentives that Tehran rejected as inadequate.
As the EU ministers gathered, the spokesman for Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Aghamohammadi, reiterated that Tehran would never give up its peaceful atomic program.
The IAEA governing board urged Iran on August 11 to resume the suspension but Tehran has so far ignored the board's demand.
Although Iran has not resumed enriching uranium, last month it began work at a plant in Isfahan that converts raw uranium into gas that can later be purified into enriched uranium fuel for power plants or bombs.
Separately, a group of Iranian exiles that has accurately reported about hidden nuclear sites in Iran in the past said Tehran acquired from China in 2004 a sizeable amount of a metal with many civilian uses but also useable in atomic weapons.
Pretty please Mr. Mullah, don't make any bad weapons.
What do you want to bet that, even as their diplomats are thinking about getting the big bad UN involved, other parts of these countries' governments are busy cutting backroom arms deals with Tehran?
So, would sanctions include not allowing them to sell oil? That could come back to bite us, couldn't it?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.