Divided IAEA puts off ruling on N-aid to Iran
Reuters, Vienna
The UN nuclear watchdog has put off until Thursday a decision on whether to block a disputed bid by Iran for help in building a nuclear reactor that could yield plutonium for atom bombs, diplomats said yesterday. They said Western and developing nations were deadlocked over terms for a compromise on Iran's request at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's technical affairs committee, meeting ahead of an IAEA governing board session. "Efforts to reach consensus are stuck, so they have decided to send the Iran item to the full board without the usual recommendation on whether to approve or not, and let the board decide," said a senior IAEA diplomat, who requested anonymity. The United States and European Union urged delegates at the 35-nation IAEA board committee session on Monday to deny Iran's request for IAEA expertise to ensure the Arak heavy water reactor under construction upholds agency safety standards. The IAEA board and UN Security Council have already asked Iran not to pursue the Arak project due to concerns Tehran could derive plutonium from spent uranium fuel used in the production process. Tehran has vowed to complete it in 2009. IAEA board approval of technical aid requests by member states developing peaceful nuclear energy is usually routine. But Western members said the Arak case must be rejected due to Iran's record of evading IAEA non-proliferation inspections and defiance of UN demands to stop enriching uranium.
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