Iran to limit cooperation with IAEA
ISN SECURITY WATCH (Friday, 3 February: 00.22 CET) – Iran will limit its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) investigation of its nuclear program, the country's representative to the UN nuclear watchdog, Ali Asgar Soltaniyeh, said on Thursday.
Soltaniyeh said that the Islamic Republic would move from full cooperation with the IAEA, including surprise visits to nuclear facilities and thorough inspections, to partial IAEA supervision, as allowed under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The Iranian diplomat alleged that the international community was discriminating unfairly against Iran and allowing Israel to avoid international scrutiny of its nuclear program.
"While Iran cooperates with the international community and takes steps not required of us by law, Israel rejects every proposal to dismantle their weapons of mass destruction […] Israel rejects IAEA supervision, and [refuses to] honor more than 30 IAEA and UN decisions," Soltaniyeh said, in comments carried by Ha'aretz newspaper.
In a letter made available to the Associated Press, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani said that moves to censure his country over its nuclear program would lead the Islamic Republic "to suspend all the voluntary measures and extra cooperation" with the IAEA.
Larijani also reiterated a previous warning that "all the peaceful nuclear activities being under voluntary suspension would be resumed without any restriction". Larijani was referring to Iranian nuclear research and efforts to enrich uranium.
European countries would like to see uranium enrichment transferred to neighboring Russia due to fears that Iranian mastery of the full nuclear fuel cycle could lead to the autonomous Iranian development of a nuclear weapons capacity.
IAEA head, Mohamed ElBaradei, warned on Thursday that the dispute concerning the Iranian nuclear program was "reaching a critical phase". He clarified that the situation had not yet reached a crisis point and said that Iran now had a "window of opportunity" – in a thinly-veiled reference to the likely submission of the Iranian nuclear dossier to the UN Security Council at March's IAEA meeting.
Soltaniyeh said that the Islamic Republic would move from full cooperation with the IAEA, including surprise visits to nuclear facilities and thorough inspections, to partial IAEA supervision, as allowed under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The Iranian diplomat alleged that the international community was discriminating unfairly against Iran and allowing Israel to avoid international scrutiny of its nuclear program.
"While Iran cooperates with the international community and takes steps not required of us by law, Israel rejects every proposal to dismantle their weapons of mass destruction […] Israel rejects IAEA supervision, and [refuses to] honor more than 30 IAEA and UN decisions," Soltaniyeh said, in comments carried by Ha'aretz newspaper.
In a letter made available to the Associated Press, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani said that moves to censure his country over its nuclear program would lead the Islamic Republic "to suspend all the voluntary measures and extra cooperation" with the IAEA.
Larijani also reiterated a previous warning that "all the peaceful nuclear activities being under voluntary suspension would be resumed without any restriction". Larijani was referring to Iranian nuclear research and efforts to enrich uranium.
European countries would like to see uranium enrichment transferred to neighboring Russia due to fears that Iranian mastery of the full nuclear fuel cycle could lead to the autonomous Iranian development of a nuclear weapons capacity.
IAEA head, Mohamed ElBaradei, warned on Thursday that the dispute concerning the Iranian nuclear program was "reaching a critical phase". He clarified that the situation had not yet reached a crisis point and said that Iran now had a "window of opportunity" – in a thinly-veiled reference to the likely submission of the Iranian nuclear dossier to the UN Security Council at March's IAEA meeting.
posted by Marko at 2/02/2006 11:28:00 PM
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