IAEA Head Says Unclear If Iran Nuclear Plans Peaceful

14 September 2004 -- The head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency says it remains unclear if Iran's nuclear ambitions are entirely peaceful.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Muhammad el-Baradei made his remarks today in Vienna before entering a closed-door session of the IAEA board of governors.

El-Baradei said that there is still no firm evidence that Iran is secretly developing atomic weapons as the United States asserts. But he said there is also no firm evidence that Iran's nuclear ambitions are completely peaceful, as it claims.

Hussein Musavian, the head of Iran's delegation at the IAEA meeting, reiterated that Iran refuses to accept an unlimited suspension of its uranium enrichment program.

France, Germany, and Britain have called on Iran to suspend those activities indefinitely.

(Reuters/AFP)