Global Security Newswire

The International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors appointed a Malaysian diplomat as chairman in a special meeting Friday, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Jan. 21).

Muhammad Shahrul Ikram replaces former Malaysian envoy Mohd Arshad bin Manzoor Hussain as head of the 35-nation board for the 2009-2010 term.

There has been speculation over whether Kuala Lumpur dismissed Arshad after he failed to follow the Malaysian government's directions to endorse an IAEA board vote to censure Iran for its controversial nuclear activities (see related GSN story, today). Malaysian officials refuted this claim.

"The ambassador's term is up in March and so it will not be renewed and we are hoping to replace him with another Malaysian envoy," Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said last week before the vote.

"I am surprised that there is a perception that he is being fired because of what happened last year," the top diplomat said.

"Mohammad Arshad's contract was extended upon his retirement and that extension is ending in March so he should bow out gracefully to let younger diplomats have a chance to serve the country in international organizations," he added.

The board to the U.N. nuclear watchdog is scheduled to reconvene in March. Discussion of Iran's nuclear program is likely to be a top priority (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Feb. 12).