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The United States on Thursday accused Iran of trying to intimidate the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by threatening to enrich more uranium unless the UN nuclear watchdog gives it a clean bill of health. "We don't think it's appropriate to try to intimidate the atomic energy agency or its board into overlooking many failures of Iran to meet its nonproliferation commitments," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. His comments came in response to remarks by Iranian President Mohammad Khatami who said the Islamic republic could resume uranium enrichment if the IAEA gives in to US pressure to censure it for allegedly hiding a nuclear weapons program. "We can at any time reverse our voluntary decisions," Khatami said in Tehran earlier Thursday, referring to agreements to suspend enrichment and ratify the additional protocol of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The United States charges Iran with hiding a program to build the bomb and has called for the IAEA, which has been investigating the Iranian program since February 2003, to refer the country to the UN Security Council for possible international sanctions. Iran categorically denies those allegations, saying its nuclear program is purely for civilian purposes. Boucher said the IAEA board of governors, which is due to meet next month on Iran's case and a new report from its director general, should consider the facts carefully and not be swayed by pressure from Tehran. He noted that the agency had already found Iran to have violated its commitments under the NPT and made it difficult for IAEA experts to inspect nuclear facilities. "Tehran has repeatedly failed to declare significant and troubling aspects of its nuclear program," Boucher said. "It's interfered with and suspended inspections. It's failed to cooperate with the IAEA in resolving outstanding issues related to the program. "And Iran has made clear, as shown by (Khatami's) remarks, that Iran doesn't somehow feel bound by its own pledge to suspend all enrichment-related activity," he said. Despite Khatami's threats, he insisted that Iran still wanted to cooperate with the IAEA and said "it is not our intention to disengage from the NPT." IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said last week that Iran's cooperation with the agency had been insufficient, but added that he had not drawn any conclusions over the nature of the country's nuclear program. All rights reserved. Copyright 2003 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Quick Links
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