Head of U.N. Nuclear Agency Meets With Iranian Leaders
ROME _ The head of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad _ a first for the nuclear agency _ and agreed to a timetable that should resolve questions about Iran’s past nuclear program within four weeks, according to a statement released Sunday.
Few specifics were added, but the International Atomic Energy Agency statement also indicated that Director General Mohamed ElBaradei left Tehran with significant new data: Iran provided design information about “a new generation of centrifuges.”
Explanation of that technology, central to the enrichment of uranium, is not required under current inspection protocols, but Iran’s leadership apparently responded to an IAEA report in November that demanded more transparency. Iran maintains it is pursuing nuclear power for energy use; critics suspect Iran also is pursuing nuclear weapons.
One diplomat, knowledgeable about the IAEA’s mission but not authorized to speak, described the talks as “very substantive.” ElBaradei was in Tehran on Friday and Saturday with Olli Heinonen, who oversees safeguards, and Vilmos Cserveny, who direct external relations.
“The point of the trip was to have communication at the highest level _ and they did,” the diplomat said. But the effort to clarify Iran’s program _ which the U.S. and Western allies believe is hiding weapon aspirations _ remains a work in progress.
“They still have to see what they get in the end,” the diplomat said.
Iran also provided more details about the source of nuclear contamination at a technical college in Tehran, the diplomat said. Iran has said that imported parts were the source of the contamination. The IAEA had asked Iran for access to specific people, equipment and places in Tehran to verify the claim.
Questions about military links to the program are still unresolved. A recent U.S. intelligence assessment found that Iran likely shut down a weapons program in 2003.
According to the statement Sunday, ElBaradei apparently asked Iran to consider “confidence-building measures” _ code words for suspending its nuclear program as demanded by the U.N. Security Council.
But late Saturday, Iran state-run television quoted Khamenei as again defying U.N. powers. The IAEA, not the Security Council, should handle all nuclear demands, according to Khamenei’s quote.
“There is no justification for Iran’s nuclear dossier to remain at the U.N. Security Council,” state TV quoted Khamenei.
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