 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
IAEA's credibility at stake: Iranian ambassador
Vienna (AFP) Feb 26, 2008 Iran's ambassador to the IAEA said Tuesday that the UN nuclear watchdog's credibility was at stake if it allowed itself to be distracted by "baseless" allegations about Iran's purported weaponisation work. Because the allegations concerned activities that were not directly of a nuclear nature and therefore "outside the statutory mandate of the IAEA," the International Atomic Energy Agency's "professionalism, credibility and reputation" were on the line, Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh told AFP. He argued that the allegations were based on fake intelligence which could easily have been put together "by any undergraduate", and added that they were "just creating difficulties for the agency and poisoning the cooperative environment". Soltanieh denied assertions by western diplomats that he had lost his temper during a key IAEA briefing on Monday, when documentation was presented suggesting that Iran had continued nuclear weapons work beyond the 2003 date cited in a recent US intelligence report. "I was not angry," he said, adding that he had merely warned other member states that the agency was in danger of letting itself by manipulated by certain countries. In a report published Friday, the IAEA found that while Tehran had made some progress in divulging information about some of its nuclear activities in the past, it was "not yet in a position to determine the full nature of Iran's nuclear programme". That was primarily because Tehran had refused outright to address allegations it was involved in weaponisation studies, including a uranium conversion project, high explosives testing, and the design of a missile re-entry vehicle. The IAEA insisted the alleged studies were "a matter of serious concern and critical to an assessment of a possible military dimension to Iran's nuclear programme." And diplomats who attended Monday's briefing said the IAEA's head of safeguards, Olli Heinonen, had presented detailed "serious and substantial" material underlining the agency's concerns. "What we saw was the IAEA secretariat piecing together a worrying mosaic of information, involving clandestine uranium enrichment, high explosives testing, work on modifying a missile re-entry vehicle and procurement of dual-use material," said one western diplomat on condition of anonymity. Among the material presented was "an Iranian-made video that made clear that Iran did not just do studies on these topics, but that actual work was being done on weaponisation, including mock-ups of the re-entry vehicle," the diplomat said. "The range of activities we saw ... strongly suggests a military dimension to Iran's nuclear activities," the diplomat said. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article 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
Iran leader hails Ahmadinejad for 'nuclear success'
Tehran (AFP) Feb 26, 2008Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday hailed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's role in the "great success" of the nuclear programme, amid threats of new sanctions against Tehran. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
