VIENNA (Reuters) – Iran is pushing ahead with its nuclear programme in defiance of tougher sanctions and is hampering the UN atom watchdog’s work by barring some inspectors, the IAEA says in a new report.
A confidential International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report, obtained by Reuters yesterday, also voices continued concern about possible activities in Iran to develop a nuclear-armed missile.
Washington called the report “troubling” while Tehran, which rejects Western accusations it is seeking to build nuclear bombs, said it was unbalanced.
“This is a pretty critical report and it seems the sides have reached an impasse,” said David Albright, head of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security.
The eight-year international dispute over Iran’s nuclear activities has the potential to set off a regional arms race and spark a conflict in the Middle East.
The United States said the new report showed that Tehran was still trying to develop a nuclear weapons capability.
“The IAEA’s reports of obstruction and Iran’s failure to cooperate are troubling to all who care about non-proliferation and global security,” White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said.
Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s envoy to the IAEA, said the report by new agency chief Yukiya Amano “has damaged the agency’s technical reputation” and was “not balanced” compared to those of Amano’s predecessor, Mohamed ElBaradei.
He said all of Iran’s nuclear activities were under the IAEA’s “complete supervision,” Mehr News Agency reported.
Last month, a former top UN nuclear official was quoted as saying that Iran had stockpiled enough low-enriched uranium for 1-2 nuclear weapons but it would not make sense for it to cross the bomb-making threshold with only this amount.
The West hopes the imposition since June of additional UN, US and European sanctions on Iran — including measures that target its lifeblood oil and gas sectors — will persuade the Iranian leadership to back down and halt sensitive activity.
