VIENNA: Western powers told Iran yesterday it must step up cooperation with a UN watchdog’s investigation into suspected atomic bomb research by the country if it wants to get a broader nuclear deal that would ease sanctions.
The warning was issued at a board meeting of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, as chief negotiators from Iran and six world powers prepared to resume talks in New York after a two-month hiatus.
Iran’s envoy, Reza Najafi, dismissed accusations about his country’s atomic activities as “mere allegations ... without any substantiation” but also said a new meeting with the IAEA to discuss the matter was expected to be held soon. A stalled IAEA inquiry could further complicate the powers’ parallel efforts to reach a settlement with Iran on curbing its nuclear programme in exchange for a gradual phasing out of financial and other punitive measures hurting its economy.
The United States and the European Union said they were concerned about the slow headway so far in the IAEA’s long-running probe into suspicions that Iran has worked on designing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies the charge and says it is Israel’s assumed atomic arsenal that threatens Middle East peace.
An IAEA report in early September showed Iran had failed to answer questions about what the UN agency calls the possible military dimensions of the country’s nuclear programme by an August 25 deadline. In a statement to the IAEA meeting, the EU said it was disappointed with the “very limited progress” in that inquiry. “The EU underlines that resolving all outstanding issues (between Iran and the IAEA) will be essential to achieve a comprehensive, negotiated long-term settlement,” it said.
That was a reference to the push by the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany to negotiate a resolution to the wider, decade-old dispute with the Islamic Republic over its nuclear programme.
Iran has been promising to cooperate with the IAEA since Hassan Rouhani, seen as a pragmatist, was elected president last year on a platform of ending Tehran’s international isolation. It says its nuclear work is for non-military purposes only.
But Iran did not address two key issues by late August as agreed with the IAEA: alleged experiments on explosives that could be used for an atomic device, and studies related to calculating nuclear explosive yields. They were part of a landmark report published by the IAEA in 2011 with intelligence indicating Iran had a nuclear weapons research programme but halted it in 2003 when it came under increased international pressure. The intelligence suggested some activities may have resumed later. The report identified about 12 specific areas that it said needed clarification. Iran says the allegations are baseless, while pledging to address the concerns.
Reuters
