US, Iran respond differently to IAEA report

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 13, 2003

US, Iran respond differently to IAEA report

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The United States dismissedon Wednesday a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which found no evidence Iran is developing nuclear weapons, while Iran saw such a conclusion as "positive."

"After extensive documentation of Iran's denials and deceptionsover an 18-year period and a long litany of serious violations of Iran's commitments to the IAEA, the report nonetheless concluded that 'no evidence' had been found of an Iranian nuclear weapons program," said US Deputy Secretary of State John Bolton.

"I must say that the report's assertion is simply impossible tobelieve," Bolton is reported to have said in a speech text circulated by the State Department.

"In what can only be an attempt to build a capacity to develop nuclear materials for nuclear weapons, Iran has enriched uranium with both centrifuges and lasers and produced and reprocessed plutonium," he said.

A US State Department official told reporters that Bolton's speech had been sanctioned at the highest level, which means his remarks constitute an official US response to the IAEA report.

The report, released by IAEA chief Mohammed ElBaradei on Monday,criticized Iran for carrying out nearly two decades of covert nuclear activities, but acquitted it of any attempt to develop a nuclear weapon.

The confidential report came after Tehran agreed to accept tougher IAEA inspections and suspend its enrichment of uranium before an Oct. 31 deadline set by the UN nuclear watchdog.

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said he saw "the most positive point" in the IAEA report.

"The report proves our claims and will prevent pretexts of certain powers and circles against Iran," he said after a cabinet meeting.

But the president said he still had a number of complaints overElBaradei's report.

He said:" He should have taken into account other considerations. It is natural that during the past 20 years of nuclear activities, there have been failures, but this does not signify a violation of the NPT."

The IAEA's 35-nation board of governors will declare whether Iran has been in compliance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), based on ElBaradei's report at a meeting on Nov. 20,which could lead to UN sanctions.

"We will continue our cooperation with the agency and we are waiting for the board of governors meeting. If their attitude is political, we reserve the right to change our attitude," Khatami said, while adding that he was "optimistic" about the result.

Britain, a staunch ally of the United States, urged a quick andpeaceful solution to Iran's nuclear issue despite the sharp US reaction.

"We should be reacting calmly to the latest report from the (United Nations) International Atomic Energy Agency," said British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in an interview with BBC radio Wednesday.

"I can't say whether the cooperation has been complete but it has certainly been substantial," Straw said.

Relations between Britain and Iran have been soured over Britain's August arrest of a former Iranian diplomat allegedly involved in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires.

The European Union's (EU) foreign policy chief Javier Solana boasted of the EU's success to win concession from Tehran in the face of a possible conflict.

"Iran is a clear case of the use of preventive action. We are doing it and we are engaged," Solana said Wednesday

He said the IAEA report vindicated EU diplomacy, which should become a model for addressing specific threats with targeted toolsand methods.

"It fulfills pretty much what we wanted to obtain. They (Iran) have to stop the cycle and they have to go even further than the NPT," he said.

In mid-October, Tehran promised visiting foreign ministers of Britain, Germany and France that it would suspend uranium enrichment in return for technical aid for its peaceful use of nuclear energy.

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