IAEA warns of action on Iran's future violations

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 27, 2003

IAEA warns of action on Iran's future violations

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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted Wednesday a resolution over nuclear activities of Iran, which was described by Iran as an "achievement"for the Islamic republic and the proof of its transparency.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the country welcomed the resolution which decided not to take Iran's nuclear issue to the UN Security Council, although the resolution condemned Tehran of covert nuclear activities in the past two decades.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said the IAEA resolution provided further proof for peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear activities.

"The IAEA Board of Governors' resolution on Iran also proved that Iran pursues its nuclear project quite transparently, and is frank in reporting its process to the UN nuclear watchdog," the official IRNA news agency quoted Asefi as saying.

"Such mutual trust between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the IAEA has been built despite all the hue and cry raised by the oppressor circles on Iran's intentions to produce nuclear weapons," the spokesman said.

"The past few days' developments can be summarized as the defeat of the unilateral efforts made on the basis of safeguarding Israel's interests, as well as the success of multilateral cooperation in political field, based on meaningful dialogue and shared wisdom."

"We expect the IAEA to establish a constructive cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran frankly, so that Iran, too, would be able to pursue its commitments on the basis of the Tehran Communique perseveringly," he added.

The IAEA Board of Governors agreed on the compromise resolution in Vienna earlier on Wednesday after days of tussle over the wording between the United States and European countries.

The text balances a US call to condemn Iran for hidden nuclear activities that included making plutonium, and European countries' demand that Iran be rewarded for its latest cooperating with the IAEA since October.

In return, Iran has pledged to sign the additional protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), accepting more strict inspections of its nuclear sites by the IAEA.

Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Akbar Salehi, said in Vienna that Iran is ready to sign the NPT additional protocol.

"Certainly we have committed ourselves to signing the NPT additional protocol, and that's what we're going to do," Salehi said.

He said Iran is "appreciative of this collaborative effort of the international community," and accepted the resolution even though it "would have preferred a better text."

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