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09-02-2005, 08:41 PM
IAEA: Iran Has Tons of Gas for Weapon
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Sep 2, 8:51 PM (ET)
By GEORGE JAHN
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Iran has pumped out about seven tons of the gas it needs for uranium enrichment since it restarted the process last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported Friday. A former U.N. nuclear inspector said that would be enough for an atomic weapon.
In unusually strong language, an IAEA report also said despite its investigation, questions remain about key aspects of Iran's 18 years of clandestine nuclear activity and that it still was unable "to conclude that there are no undeclared nuclear materials or activities in Iran."
"Iran's full transparency is indispensable and overdue," said the confidential document obtained by The Associated Press. The document listed perceived Iranian failings and called for "access to individuals, documentation related to procurement ... certain military-owned workshops and research and development locations."
Among the unanswered questions, according to the report, were gaps in the documented development of Iran's centrifuge program used in uranium enrichment - and in what was received, and when, from the black market network headed by the Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan.
Overall, the report confirmed recent revelations that most of the traces of weapons-grade uranium were imported to Iran on equipment from Pakistan that it bought on the black market - even though it said it was not possible to determine the origins of other traces enriched to less than weapons grade.
That finding hurts U.S. arguments that the traces were likely the result of enrichment done in Iran, as part of a secret program to make nuclear weapons.
Iranian state television quoted Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani as saying the conclusion showed that the country's nuclear program is "completely peaceful and has never been diverted to illegal activities."
But the key issue in the report was uranium conversion - changing raw uranium into gas that then is spun by centrifuges into enriched uranium.
The report, prepared by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei, said Iran had produced about 15,000 pounds of uranium hexafluoride, the gaseous feed stock that is spun by centrifuge into enriched uranium. Depending on the level of enrichment, that substance can be used either as a source of power or as the core of nuclear weapons.
But David Albright, a former IAEA nuclear inspector, said that were Tehran to use the material for weapons purposes, it would be enough for one atomic bomb.
The Iranian state television report did not quote or acknowledge the IAEA statements faulting Iran for a lack of transparency, but the newscaster quoted Larijani as saying some comments by ElBaradei were "non-legal" and were "made to lead to further bargaining" or "made under U.S. pressure." The newscaster did not say which remarks Larijani was referring to.
But "Iran will confine its cooperation with the IAEA to IAEA regulations and to defined international agreements," the newscaster quoted Larijani as saying.
After Iran resumed conversion last month, key European nations set a Sept. 3 deadline for Tehran to reimpose its freeze of the process or face the threat of referral to the U.N. Security Council - a warning most recently repeated last week by French President Jacques Chirac.
The 35-nation IAEA board meets Sept. 19 on Iran and will debate options that could include a U.S.-EU push for Security Council referral.
The Security Council, in turn, could impose sanctions - although members China and Russia are believed to oppose them. At a minimum, the issue would receive world attention if debated by the U.N.'s top body.
The document, prepared for that board meeting, did not report on Iran's conversion activities past the end of August, the time of the date of the last visit by IAEA inspectors to the central city of Isfahan, where the activities are taking place.
But with no word from Iran that it would cease conversion before the deadline Saturday, there was little hope that Tehran was interested in deflecting the threat.
The report said Iran has informed the IAEA that it would move its raw uranium feedstock into tunnels at the facility at Isfahan, which diplomats familiar with Iran's nuclear program say have been hardened against "bunker buster" bombs.
Tehran last month rejected economic and other incentives offered by Britain, France and Germany - negotiating on behalf of the EU - and resumed conversion, a prelude to enrichment.
Iran argues that it has a right to enrichment for peaceful purposes. The Europeans say Tehran broke its word by unilaterally resuming conversion while still negotiating with the Europeans on ways to reduce international suspicions about its nuclear agenda.
Email this Story
Sep 2, 8:51 PM (ET)
By GEORGE JAHN
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Iran has pumped out about seven tons of the gas it needs for uranium enrichment since it restarted the process last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported Friday. A former U.N. nuclear inspector said that would be enough for an atomic weapon.
In unusually strong language, an IAEA report also said despite its investigation, questions remain about key aspects of Iran's 18 years of clandestine nuclear activity and that it still was unable "to conclude that there are no undeclared nuclear materials or activities in Iran."
"Iran's full transparency is indispensable and overdue," said the confidential document obtained by The Associated Press. The document listed perceived Iranian failings and called for "access to individuals, documentation related to procurement ... certain military-owned workshops and research and development locations."
Among the unanswered questions, according to the report, were gaps in the documented development of Iran's centrifuge program used in uranium enrichment - and in what was received, and when, from the black market network headed by the Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan.
Overall, the report confirmed recent revelations that most of the traces of weapons-grade uranium were imported to Iran on equipment from Pakistan that it bought on the black market - even though it said it was not possible to determine the origins of other traces enriched to less than weapons grade.
That finding hurts U.S. arguments that the traces were likely the result of enrichment done in Iran, as part of a secret program to make nuclear weapons.
Iranian state television quoted Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani as saying the conclusion showed that the country's nuclear program is "completely peaceful and has never been diverted to illegal activities."
But the key issue in the report was uranium conversion - changing raw uranium into gas that then is spun by centrifuges into enriched uranium.
The report, prepared by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei, said Iran had produced about 15,000 pounds of uranium hexafluoride, the gaseous feed stock that is spun by centrifuge into enriched uranium. Depending on the level of enrichment, that substance can be used either as a source of power or as the core of nuclear weapons.
But David Albright, a former IAEA nuclear inspector, said that were Tehran to use the material for weapons purposes, it would be enough for one atomic bomb.
The Iranian state television report did not quote or acknowledge the IAEA statements faulting Iran for a lack of transparency, but the newscaster quoted Larijani as saying some comments by ElBaradei were "non-legal" and were "made to lead to further bargaining" or "made under U.S. pressure." The newscaster did not say which remarks Larijani was referring to.
But "Iran will confine its cooperation with the IAEA to IAEA regulations and to defined international agreements," the newscaster quoted Larijani as saying.
After Iran resumed conversion last month, key European nations set a Sept. 3 deadline for Tehran to reimpose its freeze of the process or face the threat of referral to the U.N. Security Council - a warning most recently repeated last week by French President Jacques Chirac.
The 35-nation IAEA board meets Sept. 19 on Iran and will debate options that could include a U.S.-EU push for Security Council referral.
The Security Council, in turn, could impose sanctions - although members China and Russia are believed to oppose them. At a minimum, the issue would receive world attention if debated by the U.N.'s top body.
The document, prepared for that board meeting, did not report on Iran's conversion activities past the end of August, the time of the date of the last visit by IAEA inspectors to the central city of Isfahan, where the activities are taking place.
But with no word from Iran that it would cease conversion before the deadline Saturday, there was little hope that Tehran was interested in deflecting the threat.
The report said Iran has informed the IAEA that it would move its raw uranium feedstock into tunnels at the facility at Isfahan, which diplomats familiar with Iran's nuclear program say have been hardened against "bunker buster" bombs.
Tehran last month rejected economic and other incentives offered by Britain, France and Germany - negotiating on behalf of the EU - and resumed conversion, a prelude to enrichment.
Iran argues that it has a right to enrichment for peaceful purposes. The Europeans say Tehran broke its word by unilaterally resuming conversion while still negotiating with the Europeans on ways to reduce international suspicions about its nuclear agenda.