IRAN: The head of the world's nuclear watchdog declared last night that he could not give Iran's nuclear programme a clean bill of health, blaming Tehran for frustrating almost three years of inspections and detective work by experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The damning verdict delivered by Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the IAEA, set the scene for a diplomatic battle next week in Vienna when the agency's 35-strong board is to take the longrunning dispute to the UN security council in New York.
A confidential report by Dr ElBaradei, supplied to Vienna diplomats ahead of next week's meeting, said that the IAEA was still not in a position to assert that Iran's nuclear programme was "entirely peaceful".
"It is regrettable and a matter of concern that the uncertainties related to the scope and nature of Iran's nuclear programme have not been clarified after three years of intensive agency verification," Dr ElBaradei complained.
But he was also unable to state unequivocally that Iran was embarked on a nuclear weapons programme. Rather, the tone of the report was one of suspicion, criticism, and exasperation that Iran was not showing adequate "transparency" in its dealings with the nuclear inspections.
Although the IAEA had not discovered "any diversion of nuclear material to nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, the agency is not at this point in time in a position to conclude that there are no undeclared nuclear materials or activities in Iran".
Following a number of confrontational IAEA meetings in Vienna and two emergency sessions of the IAEA board, international patience is running out with Iran. But the options available to the West are limited and risky.
Iran on Sunday sought to forestall criticism by announcing it had reached "agreement in principle" with Russia on a compromise scheme for manufacturing Iranian nuclear fuel in Russia.
But yesterday statements from Tehran and Moscow were contradictory on the details of the deal. Germany accused Iran of tactical manoeuvring, aimed at sowing dissension among the major international powers. Russia said that for the deal to work, Iran has to forfeit uranium enrichment - the easiest route to a nuclear bomb - on its soil. Iran said it would accept the Russian offer only if it could continue work on uranium enrichment.