May 12, 2003	Monday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 9, 1424

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WASHINGTON, May 11: The US government is pressing the United Nations’ atomic watchdog to take action on what Washington believes are violations by Iran of the treaty on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, administration sources said on Sunday.

Should the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) establish there is credible information that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, the US would then press for international economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation of Tehran, the sources said.

Last week, President George W. Bush told reporters in Washington that he would wait for the IAEA report before deciding what actions to take against Iran’s nuclear programme.

The only countries ever to be found in violation of the treaty are Iraq and North Korea. If a similar determination was made in the case of Iran, US officials would expect at least a meeting of the UN Security Council similar to the one held last month to discuss North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.

The sources said US Ambassador Kenneth Brill, in a closed-door meeting of IAEA’s board of governors on March 17, formally requested that the agency’s Director General Mohamed ElBaradei submit a report by June 16 on whether Iran’s nuclear-power programme is directed only to peaceful purposes.

US intelligence agencies have compiled new evidence in the past year indicating Iran is closer to developing nuclear weapons than earlier thought. Some US analysts predict Tehran will be able to produce weapons-grade material on a regular basis by late 2005.

“For a long time the US government has had intelligence indicating that Iran indeed is seeking nuclear weapons,” Robert Einhorn, assistant secretary of state for non-proliferation in the Clinton administration, said earlier this week.

“This would be the first time the international organization charged with monitoring Iran’s performance would raise questions about Iran’s intentions.”

John Wolf, the present assistant secretary of state for non-proliferation, also met with Mr ElBaradei on Wednesday in Geneva to press the case against Iran.

“Despite professions of transparency and peaceful intent, Iran is going down the same path of denial and deception that handicapped international inspections in North Korea and Iraq,” he said Monday to a gathering of diplomats in Geneva.