June 12, 2003	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 11, 1424

VIENNA, June 11: The UN’s nuclear watchdog still has many unanswered questions about Iran’s nuclear programme and is a long way off from sending the issue to the Security Council, diplomats said on Wednesday.

In a confidential report seen on Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accused Iran of failing to comply with its IAEA safeguards agreement aimed at preventing it from secretly developing nuclear weapons.

“That report is inconclusive and there’s still a lot of investigative work to be done,” said a Vienna-based diplomat familiar with the IAEA’s thinking. “There will be a further comprehensive report in September.”

A senior US State Department official said on Wednesday that Washington said that the IAEA board of governors should “certainly do something” after Friday’s damning report, whether in the form of an strongly worded joint statement or resolution.

However, the official conceded that the United States would not push the UN agency’s board into declaring Iran in violation of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as the board did with North Korea in February. Such a move would likely not be feasible before the IAEA’s September report on Iran.

But diplomats said it was far too early to pass Iran to the Security Council, which has the power to impose economic sanctions.

“It’s still at the technical level,” said a diplomat, who said Iran would first get a chance to clear up remaining questions before Tehran could be called in breach of the NPT.

“It has a long way to go before it could reach the Security Council,” the diplomat said. “Inspections are a tedious, time-consuming process.

Another diplomat noted that Friday’s report, which IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei will present to the agency’s board of governors on Monday, does not use the word “violation” but says Iran has “failed to meet its obligations”.

Friday’s report said Iran imported 1.8 tonnes of natural uranium in 1991 but had not declared the import or facilities for handling it to the IAEA, which was required under its safeguards agreement with the IAEA, until this year. —Reuters