IAEA Chief: No Evidence so far of Revived Iraqi Nuclear Arms Program

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, January 28, 2003

IAEA Chief: No Evidence so far of Revived Iraqi Nuclear Arms Program

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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has so far found no evidence that Iraq has revived the nuclear weapons program it had eliminated in the 1990s,and more time was needed for a conclusive assessment, the head of the agency told the UN Security Council on Monday.

"With our verification system now in place, barring exceptionalcircumstances, and provided there is sustained proactive cooperation by Iraq, we should be able within the next few months to provide credible assurance that Iraq has no nuclear weapons program," Mohamed ElBaradei said.

He made the statement in a briefing on the first 60 days of theagency's activities in Iraq since inspections restarted after a nearly four-year hiatus.

"These few months would be a valuable investment in peace because they could help us avoid a war," he added.

Over the first two months of inspection, the agency, which is responsible for investigating Iraq's nuclear program, has carried out a total of 139 inspections at some 106 locations, the bulk of which have taken place at state-run or private industrial facilities, research centers and universities, ElBaradei reported.

"Those inspections have focused primarily on Iraq's attempts toprocure high-strength aluminium tubes, and the question of whetherthese tubes could be used for the manufacture of nuclear centrifuges," ElBaradei said. He noted that Iraqi authorities haveindicated that their unsuccessful attempts to procure the aluminium tubes related to a program to reverse the engineering ofconventional rockets.

"From our analysis to date it appears that the aluminium tubes would be consistent with the purpose stated by Iraq and, unless modified, would not be suitable for manufacturing centrifuges; however, we are still investigating this issue," he said.

As for reports of Iraqi efforts to import uranium after 1991, the Iraqi authorities have denied any such attempts, ElBaradei said, adding that his team would continue to pursue this issue since it currently did not have enough information.

Although the Iraqi side has been cooperative throughout the inspections process, ElBaradei stressed it was important for Baghdad to shift to more "proactive support" by voluntarily "providing documentation, people and other evidence that will assist in filling in the remaining gaps in our information."

The chief inspector also urged Baghdad to make every effort to be fully transparent, with a demonstrated willingness to resolve issues rather than requiring pressure to do so.

"The international community will not be satisfied when questions remain open with regard to Iraq's weapons of mass destruction; the world is asking for a high level of assurance that Iraq is completely free from all such weapons, and is alreadyimpatient to receive it," he said.

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