IAEA board to meet after Iran restarts nuclear work

By Louis Charbonneau

VIENNA (Reuters) – The governors of the U.N. nuclear
watchdog hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday after Iran
resumed work at a uranium conversion plant, fanning Western
fears it may be seeking atomic weapons.

The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed Iran had
restarted nuclear activities on Monday that had been mothballed
under a deal with the European Union’s three biggest powers.

Tehran defied EU warnings it could now be referred to the
U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions for having kept
its uranium enrichment work secret for years until it was found
out in 2002, breaking the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NPT).

Diplomats said the governors would probably not call for a
U.N. referral yet, giving Iran and the EU time for more talks.

The meeting, originally set for 0830 GMT, was put back to
1300 GMT to give participants time to consult their
governments.

Oil hovered near a record $64 a barrel as traders worried
the nuclear stand-off with Iran and possible militant strikes
in Saudi Arabia could disrupt crucial Middle East exports.

France, Britain and Germany, the “EU3,” hope to persuade
the developing countries on the 35-member board in Vienna to
unanimously back an EU-sponsored resolution urging Iran to
resume the suspension of all uranium conversion activities.

Iran says it just wants nuclear power, but Washington and
Israel — believed to the only Middle Eastern country with
nuclear weapons — say Tehran wants to build the bomb. Uranium
conversion, and then enrichment, are steps on the path to both.

An EU3 diplomat, asked if the board would now change tack
and call for Iran to be referred to the United Nations, said:
“Not yet, but there will be new elements in the resolution to
account for the new things that have happened.”

Iran has rejected an EU offer of political and economic
incentives to persuade it to abandon nuclear technology.

EU diplomats said it would be hard to convince the board to
issue a stern warning to Iran to stop conversion and enrichment
activity — which it has the right to conduct under the NPT.

Some developing countries, led by South Africa, Brazil and
Argentina, fear the bid to force Iran to give up sensitive
atomic work could one day be used against their own programs.

VIOLATION

Iran, aware of its legal rights and the lack of unanimity
on the board, said it was unconcerned about the meeting.

It says the EU proposal, which included offers of help to
develop civilian nuclear energy and in becoming a major transit
route for Central Asian oil, is unacceptable as it denies Iran
the right to produce its own nuclear fuel.

“Even if they issue a resolution tomorrow … we won’t
accept it and will carry on with our work,” Mohammad Saeedi,
deputy head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, said.

Leading conservatives want Iran to follow North Korea and
quit the NPT which aims to thwart the spread of nuclear arms.

The IAEA said on Monday Iran had started feeding uranium
ore concentrate into the first part of the process line at the
Isfahan uranium conversion facility.

“It should be noted that the sealed parts of the process
line remain intact,” it said.

This means Isfahan restarted the first stage of the nuclear
fuel cycle. Using the sealed parts of the plant would take the
process further, but still nowhere near the possibility of
making nuclear weapons.

To monitor Tehran’s compliance with November’s EU deal, the
IAEA sealed sensitive equipment at Isfahan. EU diplomats said
breaking seals would cross a red line and lead to the Security
Council.

Iran’s Saeedi said Tehran intended to break the IAEA seals
and restart work at other parts of the Isfahan plant on
Tuesday.

Tehran has been careful to stress it is not restarting the
most sensitive element of the cycle — uranium enrichment, a
process that can produce reactor fuel or atomic warheads.

France, Britain and the United States condemned Iran’s
move.

Washington stopped short of calling for the Islamic
Republic to be referred to the Security Council as it has
frequently threatened to do and said it would help the EU
revive talks.

Iran’s conservative media praised the resumption of the
work and many newspapers looked forward to more defiance.
“Iran’s nuclear heart starts ticking,” said the Hemayat daily.

“Next step Natanz,” said the ultra-conservative Jomhuri-ye
Eslami, in reference to Iran’s uranium enrichment plant.
(Additional reporting by Vienna, Paris, Berlin, Washington,
London bureaux)