Iran Accuses IAEA Chief of Bias
Edward Yeranian 02 March 2010
Iran's top nuclear official is accusing the U.N. nuclear agency's new chief of taking sides against Iran for saying the agency cannot confirm that Tehran's nuclear program is peaceful.
Ali Akbar Salehi said Tuesday that International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano is biased, and that Iran hopes Amano "will change his approach."
Amano told the nuclear agency's board in Vienna Monday he cannot confirm that all of Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful, because Iran has not provided the agency with "necessary cooperation."
Last month, Amano issued a report warning that Iran may be trying to build a nuclear bomb, as Western nations suspect. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful and aims to generate fuel for scientific research and electricity.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said Iran has cooperated fully with the IAEA and will continue doing so.
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev said Monday he is ready to consider new U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran if persuasion fails to stop it from enriching uranium. But he said any sanctions should avoid harming Iran's civilian population.
The United States and its Western allies have been trying to secure support for new sanctions from Russia and China, both of whom have veto power on the Security Council.
U.S. officials were in Beijing Tuesday to lobby China on the issue. But China's foreign ministry said there is still room for diplomacy, and it urged all parties to intensify diplomatic efforts.
Iran has refused to accept an IAEA-brokered deal to ship most of its enriched uranium to Russia and France in exchange for fuel for a medical research reactor. The plan was designed to curb Iran's ability to enrich its own uranium to a weapons-grade level.
Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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