IAEA: Iran limiting but also hiding nuclear activities
Iran is limiting its testing of
its uranium refinement capacities yet failing
to cooperate with international nuclear
inspectors, the U.N. atomic watchdog said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency made
the assertions in a report released Thursday,
the Deutche Welle newspaper reported.
“The agency remains concerned about the
possible existence in Iran of undisclosed
nuclear-related activities involving military-
related organizations, including activities
related to the development of a nuclear
payload for a missile,” the IAEA report said.
While failing to cooperate with inspectors,
Iran has refrained from expanding tests of
more efficient models of a machine used to
refine uranium, complying with a nuclear
agreement with six world powers, Reuters
reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
said the IAEA’s report proved Tehran is hiding
its nuclear weapons ambitions.
The IAEA “once again notes that Iran is
refusing to reveal to the world its preparations
for the production of nuclear weapons,”
Netanyahu said in a statement. “Iran insists
on hiding this from the international
community at a time when the major powers
are continuing to try and allow Iran to produce
the core of such weapons, enriched uranium.
These go do not go together.”
The IAEA document nonetheless is allaying
concerns that Iran might be violating the
accord reached in 2013 by Iran and
representatives of the United States, France,
Germany, Britain, China and Russia. That
agreement stipulated that Tehran could
continue but not ramp up its research and
development of nuclear capabilities, according
Reuters.
Israel has accused Iran of using the talks to
stall for time while furthering its plans to build
nuclear weapons; Tehran has denied this.
The talks between the powers are design to
find an agreed-upon formula that would
prevent Iran from reaching nuclear
weapons capabilities while allowing it to
retain some of its nuclear program. Netanyahu
has warned against a bad deal that would
allow Iran to become a threshold nuclear
state.
Talks were scheduled to resume Friday in
Geneva between Iran and the world powers.
Netyanyahu is scheduled to deliver a speech
about Iran before Congress next month at the
invitation of House of Representatives
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) despite
opposition by some Democratic party leaders
and the White House to the delivery of the
speech.
