El-Baradei Still Wants Answers From Tehran
The Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran (Fars)
News agencies quote Mohammad el-Baradei, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency, as saying in his latest report that uncertainties about Iran's program have not been clarified despite three years of intensive efforts by the agency.
El-Baradei sent his report to the 35 member states that sit on the agency's board of governors. The board meets on 6 March to recommend whether the UN Security Council should consider punitive sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.
Russian officials announced today that bilateral talks between Russia and Iran on nuclear cooperation will resume in Moscow tomorrow. The two sides held a round of talks in Tehran yesterday.
Russia has offered to enrich uranium on its soil for Iran's nuclear program.
(compiled from agency reports)
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On 4 February, the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency approved in a 27-3 vote a resolution to report the matter of Iran's nuclear program to the United Nations Security Council. The key section of the resolution is Section 1, which states that the Board of Governors:
Underlines that outstanding questions can best be resolved and confidence built in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's program by Iran responding positively to the calls for confidence-building measures which the Board has made on Iran, and in this context deems it necessary for Iran to:
- reestablish full and sustained suspension of all enrichment-related and processing activities, including research and development, to be verified by the Agency;
- reconsider the construction of a research reactor moderated by heavy water;
- ratify promptly and implement in full Additional Protocol;
- pending ratification, continue to act in accordance with the provisions of the Additional Protocol with Iran signed on 18 December 2003;
- implement the transparency measures, as requested by the Director General, which extend beyond the former requirements of the Safeguards Agreement and Additional Protocol, and include such access to individuals, documentation relating to procurement, dual use equipment, certain military-owned workshops and research and development as the Agency may request in support of its ongoing investigations.
COMPLETE TEXT: To read the final resolution, with late-hour changes highlighted, click here.
THE COMPLETE PICTURE: RFE/RL's complete coverage of controversy surrounding Iran's nuclear program.
An annotated timeline of Iran's nuclear program.