IAEA head Muhammad el-Baradei (file photo)
26 November 2004 -- The International Atomic Energy Agency has adjourned a meeting on a full freeze of Iranian nuclear activities as Iran must still agree to withdraw its request for exemptions to the deal.
Spokesman Mark Gwozdecky said the IAEA governing board will reconvene in Vienna on 29 November. Iran last week promised European negotiators that it would halt all activities related to nuclear enrichment, a process that creates atomic fuel for power plants and weapons, in a bid to avoid the threat of UN sanctions. Later, however it demanded that key equipment be exempted from the freeze for research purposes.
News agencies had quoted diplomats as saying that Iran appeared to have dropped its demand. U.S. President George W. Bush today praised the efforts of the EU but said any deal with Iran would have to be verifiable. The U.S. accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies.
(AFP/Reuters)
News agencies had quoted diplomats as saying that Iran appeared to have dropped its demand. U.S. President George W. Bush today praised the efforts of the EU but said any deal with Iran would have to be verifiable. The U.S. accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies.
(AFP/Reuters)