Ending its deliberation on Iran’s nuclear program, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors rebuked Iran today for failing to report nuclear activities and urged Iranian leaders to accept more intrusive IAEA monitoring of its nuclear activities (see GSN, June 18).

The board “shared the concern” of IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei over “Iran’s past failures to report material, facilities and activities,” according to an IAEA release.  The board also urged Iran to refrain from putting any uranium into its pilot enrichment facility.

Iran has recently said that it might accept the Additional Protocol, allowing intrusive inspections of nuclear facilities, if it is allowed to import advanced nuclear technology.  The board said today that Iran should “promptly and unconditionally” accept the Additional Protocol.  The board welcomed Iran’s commitment to maintain a fully transparent nuclear program (IAEA release, June 19).

ElBaradei echoed the board’s remarks, urging Tehran to cooperate with U.N. efforts.

“Iran should continue to be fully transparent,” said ElBaradei.  “We still have a lot of work to do,” he said (CNN.com, June 19).

A diplomat familiar with the proceedings said that the statement was relatively mild.

“The statement by the board was a reprimand, not a condemnation,” the diplomat said.  “But it was more than I expected.  It’s not a bad result,” he said.

The Iranian envoy to the IAEA, Ali Salehi, said he was glad it was not stronger.

“We are happy that the board did not go with the pressure to come up with a resolution,” Salehi said (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, June 19).

Russia, which is helping Iran build nuclear reactors in the southern city of Bushehr, applauded the statement.

“The IAEA executive board did not take the path of adopting strict resolutions censuring Iran,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov.  “Russia is satisfied that following consultations a carefully thought out declaration by the chairman was made,” he added (Associated Press/Russia Journal, June 19).

Bush Speaks Out

U.S. President George W. Bush said yesterday that the United States “will not tolerate the construction of a nuclear weapon” in Iran.

Iran’s nuclear development has accelerated in recent months, according to U.S. officials, who said the move may have come as a result of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq.

“They now see a nuclear power — the United States — right next door in Iraq,” said a U.S. diplomat.  “That has to be affecting their calculations,” the diplomat added.

Bush’s statement was a “carefully worded escalation,” according to a senior White House official.  “It’s not like this spilled out,” the official said (David Sanger, New York Times, June 19).

Bush also called on U.S. allies to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear device.

“The international community must come together to make it very clear to Iran that we will not tolerate the construction of a nuclear weapon in Iran,” Bush said.  “There’s near universal agreement that we all must work together to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon,” he said.

Bush encouraged protesters within Iran to continue their civil disobedience.

“I appreciate those courageous souls who speak out for freedom in Iran,” he said.  “They need to know America stands squarely by their side,” Bush added (Colum Lynch, Washington Post, June 19).

Iran Rejects Nuclear Accusations

Iran rejected U.S. accusations of nuclear weapons development and said that an IAEA report, which was issued June 6 and cited Iran for failing to report uranium imports, could be applied to many countries.

“Hardly any member state can claim to be impeccable,” said IAEA envoy Salehi (Mark Landler, New York Times, June 19).

Iran also said it would consider adopting the Additional Protocol and opening up its facilities to intrusive inspections if the IAEA could prove it was immune to U.S. political pressure, the Beirut Daily Star reported today (Beirut Daily Star, June 19).

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