Tehran has also granted UN inspectors access to a research reactor long out of bounds, according to a restricted report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.

IAEA inspectors said while Iran was still installing uranium-enriching centrifuges at Natanz, the number of machines actually up and running had been reduced.

A total of 4,592 centrifuges were actively enriching uranium, compared with 4,920 at the time of the IAEA's last report in June. However the number of machines installed had been increased by around 1,000 to 8,308.

Iran is suspected of trying to develop atomic weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear programme, a charge Tehran denies.

France, Germany and the United States have spoken in favour of an international energy embargo on Iran, which despite being rich in oil lacks domestic refining capacity.

A senior UN official refused to speculate on the reason for the slowdown, which could be for technical maintenance reasons or possibly a sign that the Islamic republic was changing tack in its long-running standoff with the West.

Washington said that despite the report, Tehran was still not fully cooperating with the IAEA, with a State Department spokesman downplaying the new access granted to inspectors.

"Based on what we have seen, it seems clear that Iran continues to not cooperate fully and continues its enrichment activities," Ian Kelly told reporters.

"As I understand it, it's just in one facility. It's not the kind of broad access that the IAEA has been looking for," he said. "We are very concerned that they are not addressing the concerns of the international community.

"They say that they want to have the right to a civilian nuclear energy program but they also have the obligation to show the world that that is indeed what they intend to do."

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner adopted a combative tone, pressing for strictures.

"If there are no international sanctions, there have to be sanctions on which we can work on and they have to be European sanctions," he said.

The IAEA estimates that Iran has so far amassed 1,508 kilogrammes of low-enriched uranium hexafluoride (UF6), up from 1,339 kilogrammes in June.

Estimates vary, but analysts calculate that anywhere between 1,000-1,700 kilogrammes of low-enriched uranium would be needed to convert it into highly-enriched uranium suitable to make a single atomic bomb.

Tehran insists its atomic drive is entirely peaceful, while western countries are concerned it is a covert nuclear weapons programme.

The IAEA's latest report will likely form the basis for six-power talks on September 2 to look into harsher UN sanctions against the Islamic republic.

"This is the first time we have seen a reduction," the senior UN official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The report also said Iran had finally given UN inspectors access to its IR-40 research reactor in Arak, which the IAEA has long been wanting to investigate.

"On August 17, Iran, following repeated requests by the agency, provided the agency with access to the IR-40 reactor at Arak, at which time the agency was able to carry out a DIV (design information verification)," the report said.

Inspectors "verified that the construction of the facility was ongoing," it added.

The IAEA said the next inventory verification at Natanz was planned for November.

"At that time, the agency will be able to verify the inventory of all nuclear material at the facility and evaluate the nuclear material balance," the report said.

The two sides agreed on improvements "regarding the provision of accounting and operating records, and on the requirements for timely access for unannounced inspections."

But the IAEA said Iran was still stone-walling agency questions regarding alleged weaponisation studies carried out in the past.

"Regrettably, the agency has not been able to engage in any substantive discussions about these outstanding issues for over a year," the report said, stressing it was "critical... for Iran to clarify the outstanding issues."

earlier related report
Iran welcomes 'positive' IAEA nuclear report
Iran welcomed on Saturday as "positive" the UN atomic watchdog's latest report on its nuclear programme, but vowed to continue enriching uranium.

"Fortunately the current IAEA report has been more positive than the earlier ones due to the new approach of the Islamic republic," the head of Iran's nuclear energy organisation Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted by state television's news website as saying.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Friday in a study obtained by AFP that Iran has slowed production of enriched uranium and agreed to tighter monitoring of its enrichment plant.

Tehran has also granted UN inspectors access to a research reactor long out of bounds, the restricted report revealed.

Enriched uranium can be used to make nuclear fuel, but can also become the fissile material for an atomic bomb.

Iran is suspected of trying to develop atomic weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear programme, a charge Tehran strongly denies.

The IAEA estimates that Iran has so far amassed 1,508 kilogrammes of low-enriched uranium hexafluoride (UF6), up from 1,339 kilogrammes in June.

Estimates vary, but analysts calculate that anywhere between 1,000-1,700 kilogrammes of low-enriched uranium would be needed to convert it into highly-enriched uranium suitable to make a single atomic bomb.

"This report mentions that Iran has not halted its uranium enrichment which we consider to be our right," said Salehi, who is also an Iranian vice president.

"Nowadays the IAEA's inspectors comprehensively and constantly visit our nuclear facilities; there are even resident inspectors in Iran and nothing is covered for the IAEA," he added.

IAEA inspectors said that while Iran is still installing uranium-enriching centrifuges at Natanz, the number of machines in use has been reduced.

A total of 4,592 centrifuges were actively enriching uranium, compared with 4,920 at the time of the IAEA's last report in June. However, the number of machines installed had been increased by around 1,000 to 8,308.

France, Germany and the United States have spoken in favour of an international energy embargo on Iran, which has a shortage of refining capacity despite being rich in oil.

"Referring Iran's nuclear case to the United Nations is illegal and lacks legal foundations," Salehi said.

"The US is angry since it made a baseless claim about Iran but the IAEA did not accept it to include it as a document in its report," Salehi added, referring to alleged weaponisation studies.

These "studies" refer to documents collected from a wide range of intelligence sources that appear to suggest Iran might have been trying to develop a nuclear warhead, convert uranium and test high explosives and a missile re-entry vehicle.

Iran has repeatedly dismissed the allegations as "baseless" and the evidence used to back up the charges as "fabricated."

Washington said that despite the report, Tehran was still not fully cooperating with the IAEA, and a State Department spokesman downplayed the new access granted to inspectors.

"Based on what we have seen, it seems clear that Iran continues to not cooperate fully and continues its enrichment activities," Ian Kelly said.

"They say that they want to have the right to a civilian nuclear energy programme but they also have the obligation to show the world that that is indeed what they intend to do," he added.

The IAEA said Iran was still stone-walling agency questions regarding alleged weaponisation studies carried out in the past.

"Regrettably, the agency has not been able to engage in any substantive discussions about these outstanding issues for over a year," the report said, stressing it was "critical ... for Iran to clarify the outstanding issues."

Iran's refusal to halt unranium enrichment flies in the face of repeated UN Security Council calls as well three sets of sanctions.

For its part, Iran arch-enemy Israel said Tehran was engaging in a cover-up.

Its agreement to more monitoring was "smoke in the international community's eyes aimed at covering up, not shedding light," the foreign ministry said.

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News