IAEA seeks fresh ideas in Iran stalemate

AUSTRIA: The UN atomic agency's board will be looking for a way out of its impasse with Iran after two fruitless visits probing Tehran's suspected nuclear weapons drive, in a meeting starting Monday. In a report sent to International Atomic Energy Agency member states on February 24, watchdog chief Yukiya Amano said that after the two trips, on January 29-31 and February 20-21, “major differences” with Tehran remained.

The Islamic republic denied access to the Parchin military site near Tehran where a major IAEA report in November said suspicious high-explosives tests consistent with developing nuclear warheads were carried out, Amano said.

A senior official familiar with the investigation said that the IAEA team was only able to speak to “middle men” and that the Iranians wanted to “constrain the process, and put us in a harness.”

Iranian officials repeated their assertion during the trips that the November report, which has prompted tighter Western sanctions and raised speculation of Israeli air strikes, was based on forgeries, the agency said.

What response the 35 nations currently on the board of governors make this week -- the meeting is open-ended and could last until Friday -- remains to be seen, however.

“Since the November report, the IAEA has not obtained enough significant new information ... to justify additional pressure on Iran by governors,” said Mark Hibbs from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

It is also unclear whether Russia and China -- traditionally more lenient on Iran than their Western UN Security Council partners -- will support any resolution passed by the board condemning Iran.

AFP