TEHRAN, Nov 12: Iran’s President Mohammad Khatami said on Wednesday he had a number of complaints against the head of United Nations’ nuclear watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei over his report listing violations by Iran’s nuclear programme.
While Mr Khatami acknowledged that Iran’s nuclear activities have been “very varied”, he asserted that the production of plutonium had been for medical purposes and “totally peaceful”.
And Iran’s concealment, he argued, was because of US efforts “to stop our activities and impose sanctions”.
Mr Khatami said Tehran’s future cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency depended on the outcome of the IAEA’s Nov 20 board meeting which could declare Iran in breach of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“In the report the important point was that there is no proof Iran is seeking to build the atomic bomb. Overall, there are positive points and there are points that did not need to have been mentioned,” Mr Khatami told reporters.
“We have some complaints against Mr ElBaradei,” he added, asserting that Iran’s failures had been in the past and that “there was no need to repeat them.”
“He should have taken into account other considerations. It is natural that during the past 20 years of nuclear activities there have been failures, but this does not signify a violation of the NPT,” he added.
“We will continue our cooperation with the agency and we are waiting for the board of directors’ meeting. If their attitude is political, we reserve the right to change our attitude,” Mr Khatami said, although he did add that “I am optimistic.”
The confidential report by Mr ElBaradei, released on Monday, has sparked a diplomatic tug-of-war between IAEA member states in favour of passing a non-compliance resolution and those advocating a lighter reprimand that would encourage Tehran to keep cooperating.
The report said there was “no evidence that the previously undeclared nuclear material and activities ... were related to a nuclear weapons programme.”
But it still gave the caveat that “given Iran’s past pattern of concealment” time is needed before Iran’s nuclear programme can be certified as “exclusively for peaceful purposes.”
Diplomats say Iran is likely to escape censure at the Nov 20 IAEA board meeting, but largely in a concession to Britain, France and Germany, which sent their foreign ministers here last month to secure Iranian compliance with IAEA’s demands.—AFP
