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Iran's top nuclear negotiator due in Pakistan

Posted on: Friday, 2 September 2005, 05:12 CDT

By Zeeshan Haider

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Iran's top nuclear negotiator is due to visit Pakistan soon as part of Tehran's effort to head off sanctions over its controversial nuclear program.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan admitted in March that Abdul Qadeer Khan, a scientist revered as the father of its atomic bomb, had supplied Iran with centrifuges that can be used to produce enriched uranium for nuclear power plants or weapons.

Iran insists its program is peaceful and says traces of bomb-grade uranium found in Iran by the U.N. nuclear watchdog in 2003 came from contaminated Pakistani centrifuge components.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Ali Larijani would arrive in Islamabad on Sunday evening or Monday morning.

"He is likely to tell us about Iran's discussions with the IAEA and the European Union on the nuclear issue," spokesman Muhammad Naeem Khan said.

The U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency is expected to deliver its latest report on Iran's nuclear program to 35 nations on the agency's board of governors on Friday or Saturday.

This is expected to confirm that Iran has resumed sensitive nuclear work that could lead it to be referred to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.

VISITS TO CHINA AND INDIA

Larijani is currently in China and has also visited Pakistan's nuclear-armed rival India to lobby against sanctions.

The European Union agreed on Thursday to press for Iran to be referred to the Security Council if the Vienna-based IAEA confirms that Tehran has resumed suspect nuclear activities.

This would end years of negotiations by an EU trio -- France, Britain and Germany -- to stop Iran pursuing a nuclear program the West fears is a cover for developing an atomic bomb.

The IAEA has been investigating Iran's nuclear program for almost three years. It has found no hard evidence to back U.S. allegations that Tehran is developing nuclear weapons, but it is not convinced Iran's atomic ambitions are peaceful.

Pakistan sent parts of old centrifuges to Vienna this year to help the IAEA in its investigations.

Khan said these had now been returned. He said the IAEA had shared its findings with Pakistan but declined to give details, saying it was up to the U.N. agency to disclose its report.

"They have acknowledged our cooperation. Our role has come to an end in this regard," he said.

Pakistan faces a tricky balancing act as it tries to boost strategic ties with Washington while maintaining good relations with Iran, a fellow Muslim country and its western neighbor.

Pakistan, Iran and India have been discussing the building of $7 billion pipeline that would carry Iranian gas to energy-hungry India via Pakistan, a project opposed by Washington.

President George W. Bush said last month he could consider using force against Iran as a last resort to press it to give up its nuclear program. Pakistan, a key ally in the U.S.-led war on terror, has said it opposes the use of force against Iran.

Source: REUTERS

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