Iran Fails to Stop IAEA Rebuff

By Greg Webb
Global Security Newswire

VIENNA — As expected, international diplomats last week rebuffed an Iranian request for technical assistance for a heavy-water nuclear reactor under construction at Arak.  A last-minute Iranian promise to offer nuclear inspectors more information on its nuclear activities failed to derail the move (see GSN, Nov. 22).

Following several days of informal talks, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s governing board approved hundreds of technical assistance requests from dozens of nations, but agreed to take no action on the controversial Iranian request for help to ensure the safety of the heavy-water reactor.

Iranian officials have claimed that the reactor is intended to replace a smaller, existing research reactor in Tehran and that the new facility would produce radioisotopes for medical and other peaceful uses.  Iran requested a modest amount of assistance to ensure the site’s safety, about $12,000 for the first year.

The United States, backed by many other Western nations, has charged that the reactor would be an excellent way for Iran to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons and has asserted that other types of reactors would be better suited to produce isotopes.

The board’s lack of action effectively denied funding for the project, but by not specifically rejecting Iran’s request, the board technically left the door open for Tehran to resubmit its request in the future.

The board’s technical cooperation committee considers requests every two years, so Iran is unlikely to renew its request before 2008, although the board has the authority to approve projects at any time.

That possibility was described as extremely remote by the top U.S. official here.

“The Arak project was not deferred.  It was not put on hold.  It was removed entirely from the IAEA program,” said U.S. Ambassador Gregory Schulte.

“The removal of Arak — an action taken by consensus — reflects the board’s continued concern about the nature of Iran’s nuclear program and the intentions of its leadership,” he added.  “Neither we nor the board are prepared to help countries build nuclear bombs.”

Despite Schulte’s assertion that the prospect of IAEA assistance is dead, agency head Mohamed ElBaradei made clear that the board’s decision could be reversed if the political climate changes.

“If matters move in a different direction in the future, the board might revisit that decision. The decision right now is that that project will be put on hold,” he said.  “The decision by the board is very much linked to confidence in the peaceful nature of Iran’s overall program.  If confidence were to be restored, whether the board will take another decision, that’s really up to the board.”

ElBaradei urged Iran to build confidence by offering more cooperation, and he praised Iran’s announcement Wednesday that it would allow agency officials to gather more information at two sites, including the operating records of Iran’s centrifuge enrichment facility at Natanz.

“These are steps in the right direction,” he said in his statement to the board while encouraging more openness from Tehran.

“The earlier Iran takes the remaining transparency measures and addresses the outstanding issues, the earlier the agency would be in a position to provide the needed assurances — assurances that are key to restoring international confidence regarding the scope and nature of Iran’s nuclear program,” he said.

Still, ElBaradei did not express much optimism that the nuclear crisis was near resolution.

“We are going through a period of standstill in our effort to move forward to clarify the remaining outstanding issues in Iran,” he told reporters after the board meeting.  “These are issues that we need to clarify before we are able to say that there is no undeclared nuclear activity and material in Iran.”

For its part, Iran vowed to press on with Arak without agency assistance.

“Because of the necessity of producing radioisotopes for hospitals, agriculture and industry, the government and the Atomic Energy Organization is expected to speed up construction of heavy-water reactor in order to fulfill the humanitarian demand,” said Ali Asghar Soltanieh, the leading Iranian official here.

Meanwhile, Russia has delivered an initial set of air-defense systems to Iran as part of $700 million package signed last year, the Associated Press reported Friday. Iran has ordered 29 Tor-M1 missile systems to protect its nuclear installations from air attack, according to the London Telegraph.  The first batch would be deployed at Iran’s nearly completed nuclear power station at Bushehr, a Russian source told the Telegraph.

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