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IAEA Board To Debate Iran Nuclear Actions

VIENNA, March 6, 2006 -- Members of the 35-country governing board of the United Nations' nuclear-watchdog agency are preparing to open a meeting in Vienna, Austria, today to discuss Iran's refusal to halt nuclear fuel work.

Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said on March 5 that Iran would pursue full-scale uranium enrichment work if the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sent the case to the UN Security Council for consideration of possible sanctions against Iran.

The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, said Iran could face "tangible and painful" consequences if it pushed ahead with uranium enrichment, and he pledged that the United States would use all tools at its disposal to stop the Iranian atomic project.

President Says Iran Won't Be 'Bullied'

Today, Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said Iran would not be "bullied." He called on the IAEA's board to "accept Iran's right" to pursue a nuclear-energy program.

At the meeting, the board of governors is expected to receive a report from IAEA Director-General Muhammad el-Baradei saying that Iran has largely failed to provide reassurances that its nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes.

(compiled from agency reports)

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org