U.N. agency worried about Iran's ability to build nuclear weapons

baltimoresun.com

The U.N's nuclear watchdog agency says in a report released yesterday that it has "serious concern" about Iran's potential to assemble a nuclear bomb because it has not addressed questions about weapons designs, but it credited Iran for clarifying all other issues about its nuclear program.

The report by the Vienna, Austria-based International Atomic Energy Agency was released as the Security Council considers new sanctions against Iran, though the sanctions are not expected to stop Iran from enriching uranium, diplomats say.

Iran has continued to defy earlier resolutions demanding a halt to enrichment, which can be used to produce fuel for a nuclear power plant or to make nuclear weapons if further enriched.

The Bush administration said yesterday that the U.N. agency could confront Iran with CIA intelligence reports about Iran's Green Salt Project, which is suspected of being aimed at turning nuclear material into weapons. The project includes uranium processing, high-explosive testing and the design of a missile re-entry vehicle.

The findings were gleaned from an Iranian laptop that the CIA acquired in 2004. The United States did not permit the IAEA to reveal most of the direct evidence obtained for fear that it would reveal U.S. sources and methods.

Iran has said that the information was fabricated or dealt with conventional weapons or civilian applications.

The U.N. report describes a computer image, which was made available to Iran, showing "a schematic layout" of the inner cone of a re-entry vehicle that is called "quite likely to be able to accommodate a nuclear device." IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said the IAEA has not found that Iran has put those plans into operation.

"This is a matter of great concern and critical to an assessment of a possible military dimension to Iran's nuclear program," the report says. The agency has not found evidence linking nuclear material to the U.S. intelligence information and does not consider the U.S. reports credible proof that Iran was developing nuclear weapons, it says.

The report has been much anticipated to see if it would reaffirm the conclusions of U.S. intelligence agencies last December that Iran abandoned its military nuclear program in 2003 but had the potential to resume it.

During a news conference yesterday, ElBaradei credited Iran with progress in clarifying previously unanswered questions about the program except for the weapons issue, and he expressed confidence that his agency understands the scope and nature of Iran's enrichment program.

ElBaradei asked Iran to quickly respond to the new weapons questions and cautioned that until Iran gives inspectors full access to suspect nuclear-related sites, the IAEA cannot give it a clean bill of health on whether its nuclear program can be diverted for military purposes.

The report provides fodder for Security Council members who demand new sanctions and for those who argue that Iran deserves a break for its good-faith efforts.

The Security Council, after waiting for the IAEA report at the request of South Africa, Indonesia, Libya and Vietnam, will proceed with deliberations on tougher sanctions against Iran next week.

Britain and France formally introduced a resolution Thursday to impose sanctions on Iran's nuclear program. The resolution, which would be the third targeting Iran, would restrict cargo going to and from Iran, impose travel bans, freeze the assets of people involved in the nuclear program and tighten the monitoring of Iranian financial institutions.

Iranian officials described the report as a victory for Iran, saying ElBaradei has closed the case.