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The United States on Tuesday renewed accusations that Iran is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons after revelations that UN inspectors have discovered new signs the Islamic republic may be seeking to enrich bomb-grade uranium. The State Department did not directly address the new information but said Washington's view was "borne out by the facts" and said it looked forward to discussing the matter next when the governing board of the UN's nuclear watchdog meets in Vienna to address the Iranian program. "I think what is clear, as we approach the next phase of discussion at the International Atomic Energy Agency, is that Iran has still not fulfilled the requirements of the board of governors, nor has it fulfilled its own commitments to provide full and complete information," spokesman Richard Boucher said. Asked whether the United States held to its longstanding charges that Iran is trying to cloak nuclear weapons development with a civilian energy program, he replied: "I think that's borne out by the facts, yes." Boucher spoke shortly after it emerged that IAEA experts had found more contamination in Iran by highly enriched uranium that could be bomb-grade and that Tehran had provided "changing or contradictory information" on its work with sophisticated P-2 centrifuges which can enrich uranium to that level. The findings were contained in a confidential report by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei prepared ahead of a June 14 meeting of the agency's 35-nation board of governors. Iran must clear up these questions about uranium contamination and centrifuges if the international community is to believe Iran's claims its nuclear program is strictly peaceful, the report said. The United States says Iran is 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 Islamic Republic to the UN Security Council for possible international sanctions. But ElBaradei told a NATO meeting in Bratislava on Tuesday "the jury is still out" on Iran's nuclear program, although he would not hesitate to recommend taking Tehran to the UN Security Council if a military link were found. Diplomats say the IAEA will not be able to reach a decision on Iran in June since Tehran has delayed inspections and only last month submitted a report on its program which the agency will need months to evaluate. 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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