• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Iranian official gives upbeat assessment of ElBaradei`s remarks

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Vienna, March 8, IRNA -- An Iranian Foreign Ministry official here on 
Monday sounded upbeat as the head of the International Atomic Energy 
Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, presented a report at a closed-door session
of the IAEA board of governors about Tehran`s nuclear program. 
Iran`s ambassador to IAEA, Pirooz Hosseini, told IRNA after the 
session that `ElBaradei frankly hailed Iran`s cooperation with the 
agency`. 
The official described the report as a natural `reaction to 
existing realities and indicating Iran`s cooperation with the agency`.
"The presentation of this report shows that most of Iran`s issues 
with the agency have been resolved and the remaining problems are 
being ironed out," Hosseini added. 
Elbaradei, the official said, took Iran to task in his report over
the contamination of certain nuclear devices and sought Tehran`s 
cooperation in clarifying the matter. 
Tehran has said that traces of enriched uranium found in Iran had 
entered the country on `contaminated` equipment bought through 
middlemen. 
Hossein Fereydoun, an advisor to Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, 
said, "Most of the board members, speaking to Iranian officials, 
described ElBaradei`s report a sign of positive trend in Iran`s 
cooperation and resolution of the remaining issues. 
"The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency is
satisfied with Iran`s cooperation in giving access to various 
individuals for interview and in suspending uranium enrichment," he 
added. 
The official called on the board to take its cue from the IAEA 
director general`s report, saying, "We believe that any resolution, 
which is issued, must be based in this framework, which is a 
technical, and not political, framework." 
Fereydoun touched on ElBaradei`s concerns about Tehran`s alleged 
failure to declare the country`s designs for P-2 centrifuges and said,
"ElBaradei, in his report, stressed the significance of Iran`s 
continued cooperation with the agency (IAEA). 
"ElBaradei, however, expressed confidence that with the resolution
of the remaining issues, the international trust in Iran`s nuclear 
programs will be restored," he added. 
Earlier in the day, Iran`s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza 
Asefi had said that `We look with optimism at this session, since 
we have fully cooperated` with the IAEA. 
"Iran is insisting that its relations with the International 
Atomic Energy Agency become normal and issues be followed up within 
the framework of the Additional Protocol, since we will render a more 
serious cooperation with the agency in a normal climate," he said. 
Tehran has stressed that the IAEA is informed of the country`s 
research on uranium-enrichment centrifuges, and described reports 
about Iran`s designs for centrifuges as `ballyhoo and propaganda`. 
Tehran says its nuclear efforts are in accordance with the 
country`s bid to produce 7,000 megawatts of electricity in the next 20
years, when the country`s oil and gas reserves become overstretched. 
The Islamic Republic voluntarily suspended uranium enrichment 
following the visit of British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and his 
French and German counterparts, which led the country to sign an 
additional protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty late last 
year for snap inspections. 
BH/AH/210 
End