KEY POINTS:
Iran said yesterday it had been vindicated in a report by the United Nations atomic watchdog and there would be no legal basis for further discussion at the UN Security Council of its nuclear plans.
The UN's nuclear watchdog said Tehran had made moves towards transparency, but was continuing to enrich uranium in defiance of the Security Council.
"We welcome this, that the International Atomic Energy Agency has found its role and with the publication of [IAEA chief Mohamed] ElBaradei's report, the world will see that the Iranian nation has been right and the resistance of our nation has been correct," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said.
Western nations accuse Iran of seeking to build atomic bombs under cover of a civilian nuclear programme. Tehran insists its ambitions are peaceful and aimed at generating electricity.
The UN Security Council has demanded Iran halt uranium enrichment, the part of the programme that most worries the West, because it can have both civilian and military applications.
"It will be surprising if they continue discussing Iran's case at the UN Security Council because, based on this report, the discussion will have no legal and international basis," Mohammad Saeedi, deputy director of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, said.
The timing and toughness of any further UN sanctions will hinge on world powers' interpretation of the IAEA report, as well as another report due from the European Union's top diplomat, Javier Solana, on recent dialogue with Iran.
Tehran has consistently refused to stop its atomic work and the IAEA report, released yesterday, said Tehran had expanded its activities.
"It is possible to be flexible on some issues but there are some [other] fields that if one gives [them] up, the rights of a nation is suppressed and the future is lost, and nuclear energy is one of these issues," Ahmadinejad said, in comments carried by the official IRNA news agency.
Iran has agreed with the UN agency on a plan to clear up questions about its programme in order to allay any doubts.
The IAEA report said Iran had made major strides toward transparency but had yet to resolve key outstanding questions.
The United States, which is leading efforts to isolate Iran, said Iran continued to provide "partial answers" about its nuclear plans and Washington would push for more UN sanctions. Two sanctions resolutions have already been passed.
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, said he did not expect another resolution to be passed but said "if it happens it will have an impact" on Iran's co-operation with the IAEA.
Some issues resolved
Advances in transparency
Iran turned over a black-market manual outlining how to mould uranium metal into spheres for nuclear warheads. IAEA inspectors discovered the document while examining nuclear facilities suspected to have military dimensions. In September, Iran signed a binding accord governing inspector access to its vast underground Natanz enrichment hall.
Opening up
Since August, Iran has turned over documentation and granted IAEA interviews with Iranian officials involved in developing centrifuges with designs and parts obtained from nuclear smugglers.
Issues still to be addressed
The IAEA wants satisfactory explanations on the origin of particles of highly-enriched uranium found on some equipment used at atomic research sites, suggesting military involvement. There has been intelligence about illicit Iranian efforts to "weaponise" nuclear materials, namely a "Green Salt Project" linking work on processing uranium ore, tests on high explosives and a missile warhead design. Iran is to answer questions on both issues and permit interviews with relevant officials "in the next few weeks".
- Reuters
