Iran told to tow the line
The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Friday it would give Iran until October 31 to prove it was not covertly developing atomic weapons.
Should the deadline slip by without word from Iran, the UN could introduce sanctions against Tehran.
Iran, pre-war Iraq and North Korea sit on US President Bush’s “axis of evil.”
Iran is accused of developing nuclear weapons under the pretext of a domestic nuclear energy programme,
It is believed Iran’s delegation at the week-long meeting of governors at the IAEA on Friday in Vienna left in protest prior to the announcement.
Iran’s chief delegate, Ali Akbar Salehi, said the resolution reflected the US’ appetite for “confrontation and war.”
“We reject the ultimatum in this draft,” Salehi said, which was a “disaster for the agency.”
“We will have no choice but to have a deep review of our existing level and extent of engagement with the agency,” Salehi said.
The resolution calls on Iran to grant “accelerated cooperation and full transparency” to ascertain that Tehran’s nuclear programme falls within the parameters of the non-proliferation treaty and to suspend all uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities.
Iran insists its nuclear programme is for producing electricity.
Tehran continues to reject allegations that it acquired technical know-how from Russia, North Korea, China and Pakistan.
Iran President Mohammad Khatami said his country did not wish to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
“I emphasise that Iran is totally against any form of weapons of mass destruction and denounce as false and groundless the claims that Iran is producing nuclear weapons,” he said.
