Riyadh: The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran is still using hundreds of centrifuges at Natanz reactor. He also indicated that Tehran is still at the initial stages of developing an uranium enrichment facility.
Speaking during a joint press conference with the GCC Secretary General Abdul Rahman Al Attiyah in Riyadh yesterday, Dr Mohammad Al Baradei said the agency is monitoring Iran's nuclear programme through international inspectors.
Al Baradei renewed his appeal to Iran to show "more transparency in its nuclear programme to assure the international community of its real intentions". He pointed out that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has no evidence, so far, that Iran has underground nuclear facilities.
The IAEA chief, however, seems concerned about the Iranian nuclear dossiers, which he described as "complicated".
Al Baradei said his meeting in Riyadh with the GCC Secretary General was complementary to a previous meeting held between the two earlier in Vienna.
Al Attiyah headed a GCC delegation to the IAEA headquarters and reviewed with IAEA officials a proposal by the GCC states to develop nuclear technologies for economic and social purposes. Al Baradei stressed that the GCC states have the power to develop nuclear energy though they have numerous energy sources like oil and gas.
Al Attiyah reiterated that the GCC states have the desire to possess nuclear power for peaceful purposes in line with the decisions adopted at the last GCC summit.
He added that the GCC states are working to have their nuclear facilities in accordance with international agreements and under the umbrella of IAEA and that the GCC would have transparency in its nuclear programme.
He pointed out that the study that the GCC states plan to conduct in collaboration with IAEA will start with setting a time frame for the programme. He disclosed that the study would be presented at the GCC Summit in Muscat by the end of this year.
Isolation will 'derail' N-programme
If given enough time, diplomatic efforts to squeeze Iran economically and isolate the country politically will derail its mission to develop nuclear weapons and destabilise Iraq, an official with the US State Department said on Wednesday.
R. Nicholas Burns, undersecretary for political affairs at the State Department, spoke at a luncheon in Boston on the same day military officials said Iran has trained Iraqi insurgents to assemble sophisticated roadside bombs that have killed at least 170 US troops. He said Iran's divided regime was susceptible to international pressure.
- AP
