IRAN: Iran agreed to freeze all its nuclear programme last night, dropping its insistence that some uranium enrichment activities be exempted from a deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Under the compromise, Tehran dropped its condition that 20 centrifuges be exempted from the freeze. The centrifuges, which are crucial to the enrichment process, would be monitored by IAEA cameras instead of being sealed.
The deal is unlikely to end the controversy over Iran's nuclear programme. Although the meeting of the IAEA board had been expected to end last night, officials decided to reconvene on Monday to agree a formula on Iran.
European and Iranian officials spent hours yesterday haggling over the wording of a board resolution.
The initial version, drafted by Britain, Germany and France, was tough on Iran, following an agreement between Tehran and the EU troika three weeks ago under which Iran pledged to freeze its enrichment activities.
But a revised draft negotiated yesterday watered down the most contentious passages and was less demanding of the Iranians. This was unlikely to satisfy the US, which is confident the EU-Iran pact will collapse.
The Europeans have dropped their demand that the IAEA be given "unrestricted access" to all sites, a clause that was opposed by many countries because of the precedent it would have set.
The Europeans also deleted a clause allowing Americans and others to take the issue to the UN Security Council if Tehran broke any agreement.
The US has been taking a low-key approach in Vienna this week, but is sceptical about both the Iran-EU agreement and the resolution emerging from this week's negotiations.
But diplomats in Vienna believe the Bush administration is likely to hold fire on Iran until its second term begins in January.
The IAEA board will meet again in March, giving the US a two-month window to present a coherent policy if Iran reneges on the agreement, as it did last summer.
Meanwhile, South Korea was rebuked by the IAEA yesterday for secret experiments that could have helped it develop an atom bomb. But Seoul was spared the embarrassment of being hauled in front of the UN.
Mr Mohamed ElBaradei, the IAEA chief, said the agency's board was "seriously concerned" about the experiments, but it had noted Seoul's "active co-operation" in clearing up the case.