AUSTRIA: The IAEA urges Iran to accelerate the pace of its cooperation and to be more proactive in providing information

The IAEA urges Iran to accelerate the pace of its cooperation and to be more proactive in providing information. Iran says it will continue cooperating, on condition that a "constructive" approach is not jeopardised by any measure taken by the Security Council. United States said on Thursday (November 22) that Iran had fallen short in steps to gain trust in its atomic work and the United Nations should now consider tougher sanctions. "We don't see this report as a positive outcome and I think my statement was clear in quoting what the foreign ministers, the P5 plus one, said on September 28, and that is, absent a positive outcome reported by the Director General (of IAEA) and by Javier Solana that the U.N. Security council needs to move forward with the third resolution," U.S. Ambassador to IAEA Gregory Shulte told reporters in Vienna. "I mentioned in my statement that four years ago Iran's representative here in Vienna committed to full disclosure, he committed to full cooperation. And four years later we are still not there. We are still waiting for that full cooperation. Why is it being parcelled out one step at the time? What the Board of Governors wants to see, what the Security Council wants to see is full disclosure. And we are getting some more (information), but it is selective and incomplete, and as the Director General has told us, it is reactive and not pro active. The Board expects different, " Shulte added. The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed Elbaradei said Iran was clarifying atomic work on schedule, countering Western doubts, but Tehran must intensify cooperation to resolve remaining questions by the end of this year. But he reiterated that the IAEAs knowledge of current Iranian activity was shrinking due to strict Iranian curbs on U.N. inspector movements and Iran was expanding uranium enrichment despite U.N. calls for a halt. In their addresses to the closed session of the nuclear watchdogs Board of Governors, Britain, France and Germany also said a wait and see approach was not an option. The statement by the EU-3 said both matters were unacceptable ... We are interested at least as much in the present and future (of Iran's programme) as the past. The West fears Iran is secretly trying to build atom bombs. Iran says it only wants electricity from uranium enrichment. Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said he would meet EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Nov. 30. Solana confirmed the talks were very likely. If Solana concludes -- as highly likely -- that Iran remains adamant against suspending nuclear fuel production, drafting of sanctions could follow. The West fears Iran is secretly trying to build atom bombs. Iran says it wants to get electricity from uranium enrichment. ElBaradei, believed to be concerned by U.S.-led criticism of the transparency plan's limitations and resolve to isolate Iran with harsher sanctions, said the plan was on track -- after some Western powers suggested Iran was dragging its heels. "Our progress over the past two months has been made possible by an increased level of cooperation on the part of Iran, in accordance with the work plan. However, I would continue to urge Iran to be more proactive in providing information, and in accelerating the pace of this cooperation, in order for the Agency to be able to clarify all major remaining outstanding issues by the end of the year," he said. The IAEA wants credible explanations for traces of highly enriched -- or bomb-grade -- uranium that inspectors found at research sites, and intelligence on links between uranium processing, explosives tests and a missile warhead design. Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the IAEA, told reporters the agency's report showed Iran had been truthful about its nuclear course but warned against further sanctions. "We will continue this mood of cooperation provided that the international community and peace-loving countries prevent the United States or others to make noise and create problems and jeopardise this constructive approach by any measure in the United Nations Security Council," he said. Asked if he was worried about U.N. sanctions, he said: "Not at all because there is no justification for sanctions, apart from the fact that sanction has a negative consequences and it is proved now that the policy of carrot and stick, language of threat has been always counterproductive." "If you are going to use the language of threat or sanctions in fact it has proved that it is counterproductive and it will not work, definitely. Therefore I advise the United States' present administration to come out of isolation and join the consensus. The international community will support these activities, because the international community is vigilant that we should not go towards confrontation, Soltanieh said. Washington and key allies France, Britain and Germany were expected to commend IAEA progress in illuminating Iran's past, but say Iran was not meeting a broad "litmus test" requiring full disclosure of present activity and a suspension. Russia and China were likely to cast the IAEA's report in a more positive light and warn against disrupting it. Both have blocked tougher sanctions, calling them counterproductive, but have pressed Iran harder to be open and halt enrichment.

ITN Source | November 23, 2007

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