The UN's chief nuclear inspector, Mohamed ElBaradei on Monday
renewed his demand that Iran to address international concerns on
its nuclear program to quell the fears of the UN agency, adding
that doubts would remain so long as Teheran provided anything less
than full cooperation.
ElBaradei's call came as IAEA board member nations gathered to
decide whether to approve the suspension of dozens of technical aid
programs to Iran as part of UN Security Council sanctions.
The 35-nation board meeting will revolve around Iran's refusal
to suspend uranium enrichment activities and linked problems.
ElBaradei told reporters that Iran had seemingly at least
temporarily ceased developing its enrichment program as the
Security Council discussed sharpening existing sanctions imposed
after Teheran's persistent refusal to freeze enrichment
activities.
"I do not believe that the number of centrifuges has increased,
nor do I believe that nuclear material has been introduced to the
centrifuges at Natanz," he said, referring to the machines used to
enrich uranium.
Despite these claims, ElBaradei, whose agency has engaged in
investigating Iran's nuclear activities for over four years,
maintained that the IAEA remains "unable to provide the required
assurance about the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program."
(China Daily via Agencies March 6, 2007)
