Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=10/31/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=U-S / IRAN / NUCLEAR (L O)

NUMBER=2-309301

BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST

DATELINE=STATE DEPARTMENT

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: The United States Friday urged International Atomic Energy Agency (I-A-E-A) member countries to hold Iran to its promises to fully disclose its nuclear program. V-O-A's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

TEXT: The United States has long held that Iran's nominally peaceful nuclear program has a concealed weapons component. And it is urging other members of the 35-nation I-A-E-A Governing Board to examine Iran's submissions to the agency with a skeptical eye.

In a vote in September, the board ordered Iran to prove by October 31st that it had no secret weapons program or face the prospect of international sanctions by the U-N Security Council.

Iran submitted a report to the agency a week ago which I-A-E-A Director-General Mohammed ElBaradei said was comprehensive, though he said the accuracy of the document had yet to be determined.

At a news briefing here, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher noted that the September 12th resolution required, among other things, that Iran fully disclose its uranium-enrichment equipment and testing activity and give the I-A-E-A unrestricted access, including environmental sampling, at any suspect site.

Though Iran said last week it would accept a tougher international inspections regime and suspend uranium-enrichment activity, Mr. Boucher urged board members to withhold judgment on Iranian compliance until Mr. ElBaradei delivers his conclusions in a report due in mid-November:

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We've had suspicions about Iran's programs for many, many years. What we've seen again are promises. We will find out from the director-general's reports whether those promises have been fulfilled, and fulfilled to the extent that they actually meet the requirements that were laid down by the board.

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Iran agreed to accept the stricter inspections October 21st during an unprecedented visit to Tehran by the British, French and German foreign ministers. Its U-N ambassador said Friday the ElBaradei report will "verify" that Iran has engaged only in peaceful nuclear activities.

Should the I-A-E-A board judge Iran to be in non-compliance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty when it meets November 20th to consider the director-general's report, it could refer the issue to the U-N Security Council for possible sanctions. (Signed)

NEB/DAG/RH