VIENNA, Feb 16: UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei has warned in quiet diplomacy that it will be hard to strike a compromise on Iran’s nuclear programme without letting it do small-scale enrichment work — something the West firmly rejects, diplomats said .

A western diplomat close to ElBaradei’s International Atomic Energy Agency said it should not be seen as the IAEA director endorsing Iran doing uranium enrichment, which can make atom bomb material, but as recognition of political reality.

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By David Rising Led by the United States and the European Union, the IAEA’s 35-nation board of governors on Feb 4 referred Iran to the UN Security Council, which can impose punitive measures.—AFP