IAEA: no diversion in Iran's nuclear program, but

Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Muhammad ElBaradei in a report released late yesterday said the Agency has been able to continue to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran.

The report which was submitted to the 35 member states of IAEA Board of Governors said, "Iran has provided the Agency with access to declared nuclear material and has provided the required nuclear material accountancy reports in connection with declared nuclear material and activities."

While referring to Iran's cooperation and its response to all the questions, it raises some criticisms against the country. Iran maintains that all the allegations are baseless and that the data have been fabricated. The report said "The Agency's overall assessment of the nature of Iran's nuclear program also requires, inter alia, an understanding of the role of the uranium metal document, and clarification by Iran concerning some procurement activities of military related institutions which remain outstanding."

The report says that contrary to decisions of the UN Security Council, Iran has not suspended its enrichment related activity. Iran view the UN Security Council intervention in this issue as a political and illegal intervention in a technical matter.

US Department Of State spokesman Sean McCormack said today that the report "really speaks for itself more than anything that I could say. It refers to the fact that the Iranians are willfully trying to – willfully withholding information about their activities related to potential weaponization. There are a number of different questions out there about the military’s involvement in this nuclear program, about Iran’s efforts to fabricate hemispheres of uranium. And I’m not sure, other than for a weapon, why you would do that. You know, perhaps there are physicists out there who could answer differently.:

Headded "But anyway, there’s a whole long list of questions that the IAEA has. They develop these questions based on information we, as well as others, provided them. And we felt it was important, as members of the IAEA, to provide that information. But nonetheless, the IAEA and their experts took a look at this information, deemed that it was important information, and they – based on that, they were going to present to the Iranian Government a series of questions. I think they even presented to them or showed them some of the documents. And thus far, the Iranians have been willfully non-cooperative. And you can read that in the report. It’s disturbing. And we’ll see what diplomatic next steps will play from this."

On the status of the new incentives package, he said " I think Mr. Solana is still working with the Iranians to set a date and a time where he and his team can present them with a refreshed incentives package," adding that the package is set and that this report will not have any impact on the content of this package.

The Director General has urged Iran to implement all measures required to build confidence in the peaceful nature of its program, including the Additional Protocol.

The IAEA head's report says Iran had within about two weeks to May 23 successfully responded all the IAEA questions, which were raised in May 9, 2008, as a means to prove transparency of the country's nuclear activities.

It also says the IAEA has no information on the project for production of the nuclear or any other parts and substances such as explosives and nuclear physics studies. The uranium metal document which is similar to a document in Pakistan -- as the country has confirmed presence of such a document there -- should be excluded from the series.

Iran's IAEA envoy Ali-Asghar Soltanieh said today that alleged studies is not among the remaining issues. "In terms of classification and work plan (Modality), the issue of alleged studies is not among remaining issues," Soltanieh said one day after release of the IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei's report on Iran to the IAEA Board of Governors.

Soltanieh said the point had also been explicitly referred to in latest report of the IAEA director general to the previous session of the Board of Governors. The report had emphasized that the remaining issues have been investigated and solved and that the alleged studies is not among the remaining issues, he added.

"The point is that documents related to the subject were not put at Iran's disposal on time," he added.

As for the US role in the case, Soltanieh said, "The documents on which the Americans spoke were not offered to the IAEA in the right manner and the director general too has for the first time expressed regret over the failure."

Based on the report, Americans' failure to release the documents, and that its offering through an electronic form, has created serious problems for Iran and the Secretariat in the course of the technical talks, noted Soltanieh.

Asked whether there is any end to IAEA chief's reports and to investigation into Iran's case on the basis of the alleged studies, Soltanieh said after the Board of Governors meeting in March and one month before start of specialized talks in Tehran, the IAEA agreed to Iran's proposal to release full list of the alleged evidences so that no proof can be raised afterwards.

To this end, it had been cited explicitly that documents on Iran will be released only once and for all and that technical talks will be held only within the same limit.

ElBaradei, however, calls for Iran's cooperation and its offering speedy and careful response on nature of the country's nuclear activities and programs within framework of the confidence building.

ElBaradei in his report unveils unilateral requests in the absence of the other party's cooperation. On February 22, Iran has got clean health bill after it responded to all outstanding issues in line with the Modality Plan signed between the two parties on August 21, 2007.

The six outstanding questions were the plutonium issue, the P1 and P2 centrifuges, the metal uranium document, source of contamination in a technical college in Tehran, polonium 210 and the Gatchin mine.

Following Iranian responses to the six outstanding issues, the International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said in his report that "the answers delivered by Iran to the outstanding issues support documentation."

Iran has so far offered its assessment of the claims or "alleged studies" -- as envisaged by the August 21 agreement. From Iran's point of view all the claims are baseless, faked and fabricated.

Though Tehran had presented its early assessment of the alleged studies and it was reflected in IAEA report on February 22, 2008, certain countries, especially the US, raised other claims against Iran's nuclear program and the Agency too demanded new meetings on the subject.

Despite considering the modality being closed, Iran announced readiness to hold three rounds of technical talks with the IAEA officials in May. That's a clear indication of transparency of Iran's peaceful nuclear program and a proof of Iran's goodwill. It is not clear if Iran getting a clean bill of health and yet continuing to agree to answer questions regarding such issues that have been considered as closed has weakened Iran's position, especialy in light of the US position and effort that aims to undermine Iran on the nuclear issues by keeping constant pressure on it, whether thru the IAEA or otherwise.

Furthermore, though political talks with the G5+1 have stopped due to the Western governments, Iran has presented a set of proposals in the framework of a package to help resolve the political, security, economic and nuclear problems.

The package consists of proposals to the international institutions and the influential powers and the countries which are ready for talks.

In the nuclear field, Iran has proposed materialization of the nuclear disarmament treaty and formation of a committee to follow up the issue, promoting the IAEA supervision on the member states nuclear programs, joint cooperation in the area of nuclear safety and physical protection, joint cooperation to acquire and use peaceful nuclear technology, easy access of member states signatory to Non-Proliferation Treaty, setting up a consortium for uranium enrichment to produce nuclear fuel in different parts of the world including Iran, and confidence building to ensure non-diversion from NPT and the IAEA Safeguards.

Iran's envoy in the European bureau of the UN in Geneva said full demolition of the nuclear weapons is the only real guarantee for getting rid of the their danger.

Iran's Ambassador and permanent representative in the European bureau of the United Nations in Geneva Ali Reza Mo'ayyeri delivering a speech in the UN Disarmament Conference underlined importance of the body as the sole source for multilateral negotiations on disarmament in the world. He strongly criticized the lack of progress in the nuclear weapons disarmament and proposed that the conference take the issue as the most important priority in its agenda.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeid Jalili said yesterday that suspension of Iran's nuclear activities is an outdated issue and advised the western countries to find other options.

Jalili said such repetitious and time consuming issues is of no use adding that Iran will not give up its legitimate rights under any circumstances. "The western countries should have got our message that the Islamic Republic of Iran is very serious in taking peaceful nuclear energy and is not to give it up even one iota," he said.

It is quite natural that Iran's advancement in the fields of nuclear technology indicates the country's determination as well as seriousness in continuing the path, Jalili said.

ElBaradei report was charecterized by Iranian media as usually prepared for double-speak and to be ambiguous reports where these reports underline that Iran continues peaceful nuclear activities and the country has not made any deviation from right path but on the other side tries to imply that the future of the country's nuclear activities is not clear in order to please a number of big powers.

Iran's Member of National Security and Foreign Policy Commission in the 7th majlis echoed Jalili's statement and said Iran's cooperation with International Atomic Energy Agency( IAEA) is perfect and Iran does not accept any more excuses on the issue.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammad-Ali Hosseini, said that Iran has "very constructive" cooperation with the UN nuclear agency. "Tehran expects the European states, particularly the friendly countries such as Italy, to show logical reaction towards Iran's positive measures and help resolve Iran's problem as well as return of the issue from the UN Security Council to the IAEA," Hosseini added.

He said yesterday that Iran has given answers to all questions raised by the International Atomic Energy Agency on the national nuclear program.