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This is an archive article published on August 12, 2005

IAEA talks tough with Iran, demands N-freeze

The governing board of the UN nuclear watchdog unanimously called on Iran on Thursday to halt sensitive atomic work it resumed this week in ...

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The governing board of the UN nuclear watchdog unanimously called on Iran on Thursday to halt sensitive atomic work it resumed this week in defiance of the West, a demand Tehran rejected as unacceptable and illegal. The resolution adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors said that Iran must resume full suspension of all nuclear fuel related activities and asked the agency to verify Tehran’s compliance.

Iran, which has denied Western accusations that its atomic programme is a front for covert bomb-making, resumed work at its uranium conversion plant in Isfahan on Monday. ‘‘The resolution on Iran was just adopted without a vote by consensus, full consensus. All 35 members of the board agreed on the language of the resolution text,’’ IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told reporters.

The IAEA board reconvened on Thursday to approve the draft after days of backroom haggling over the text. The resolution, drafted by Britain, Germany and France, requests IAEA chief Mohamed El-Baradei ‘‘to provide a comprehensive report on the implementation of Iran’s NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) Safeguards Agreement and this resolution by September 3, 2005’’.

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The text did not say Iran should be referred to the UN Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions. It does ‘‘urges Iran to re-establish full suspension of all enrichment related activities… and to permit the Director General to reinstate the seals that have been removed at (Isfahan)’’.

EU diplomats said if Iran did not comply they would ask the board to refer the matter to the Security Council in September. Iran rejected the resolution as unacceptable. ‘‘Iran cannot accept this resolution,’’ Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, was quoted as saying by the semi-official students’ news agency ISNA.

The head of Iran’s delegation to the meeting, Sirus Naseri, said in spite of the resolution, Iran would continue work at the Isfahan plant while observing IAEA safeguards aimed at preventing the diversion of uranium to covert weapons work. ‘‘We will fully observe our obligations in our programme of producing nuclear fuel,’’ Naseri said. ‘‘Iran will be a nuclear fuel producer and supplier within a decade.’’ The resolution said there was still a ‘‘possibility of further discussions’’ between Iran and the EU trio aimed at resolving the nuclear impasse between Islamic Republic and the West.

Britain’s ambassador to the IAEA, Peter Jenkins, said it would be hard to resume talks if Tehran continued to process uranium at Isfahan. However, El-Baradei came away from the meeting optimistic that the EU and Iran would continue negotiating.

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Attempting to allay the fears of some developing countries, the EU trio included a clause in the resolution ‘‘recognising the right of states to the development and practical application of atomic energy for peaceful purposes’’.

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