11/11/2003

Iran agrees to IAEA demands on nuclear inspections

Iran has acceded to demands by the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency to allow on-the-spot inspections and to suspend all uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities following concerns over its possible development of nuclear weapons.

Iranian Ambassador Ali Akbar Salehi delivered a letter conveying his government's acceptance of the Additional Protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei in Vienna yesterday.

Mr Salehi also informed Mr ElBaradei that Iran had decided to suspend all uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities in Iran - specifically, to suspend all activities on the site of Natanz, not to produce feed material for enrichment processes and not to import enrichment-related items.

The IAEA intends to verify, in the context of the Safeguards Agreement and the Additional Protocol, the implementation by Iran of these decisions, the Agency said.

The IAEA first raised concerns publicly about Iran's nuclear programme in June when it said the country had failed to report certain nuclear material and activities as required by the NPT, of which it is a signatory. Iran denied it sought to produce nuclear weapons.

At a meeting on 12 September, the IAEA Board of Governors gave Iran until 31 October to grant unrestricted access, including environmental sampling, in order to corroborate its renunciation of nuclear weapons and its compliance with the NPT.

The Board also called on Iran to suspend all further uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities, pending provision by the Director-General of the assurances required by Member States and pending satisfactory application of the provisions of the Additional Protocol.

On 23 October Iran sent Mr ElBaradei a dossier on its nuclear activities and on 31 October he said the verification work was "making good progress".

(gmcg)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

02 November 2004
Iran urged to suspend nuclear activities
The UN nuclear watchdog agency has called on Iran to suspend activities related to uranium enrichment and reprocessing.
26 November 2004
'Jury still out' on Iran's nuclear ambitions
The jury is still out on the precise nature of Iran nuclear ambitions, the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said. While it has accounted for all declared nuclear material in Iran, the IAEA said that it does not have a full picture of Tehran's clandestine arms ambitions, the agency's chief said today.
08 March 2004
UN atomic watchdog voices 'concern' over Iran's disclosure gaps
The UN's atomic watchdog agency has today voiced "serious concern" over gaps in Tehran’s declaration of nuclear activities and called on it to take the “vital” initiative to provide all relevant information "fully and promptly" in the coming months.
15 June 2004
UN nuclear watchdog chief demands 'transparency' from Iran
Iran must be “proactive and fully transparent” in declaring its nuclear activities, and should do so within the next few months to "allay suspicions about its programme", the head of the UN atomic watchdog agency said yesterday.
27 November 2003
IAEA slams Iran over nuclear treaty 'breaches'
The UN nuclear watchdog agency has strongly deplored Iran’s "past breaches" of a safeguards agreement aimed at preventing the development of nuclear weapons. While welcoming Tehran’s recent cooperation, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned that further serious failures would bring an "immediate response".