"In terms of verification and transparency of its nuclear programs Iran acts so legibly as though it has already ratified the additional protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)", Mr. ElBaradei pointed out (almost those exact words stood in the June resolution on Iran's compliance with the nuclear safety).
According to him, over the period since the previous session of the IAEA Board in June this year "Iran has not carried out any activities in the area of atomic energy not coordinated with the IAEA and acted in compliance with the NPT and its additional protocol" (the additional protocol signed by official Teheran early this year is currently undergoing a long coordination procedure in the parliament and subsequently should be approved by the Islamic Republic's spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei).
Mr. ElBaradei stressed that "the IAEA gained access to all Iran's facilities the agency was interested in". "In compliance with the IAEA requests, the Iranian authorities reported new information on their activities in the area of nuclear programs implementation", said the IAEA head. At the same time, he pointed out that "in some cases the requested information was submitted promptly, while sometimes the reporting of required information was detained, so could not be covered in the report presented at the current session of the IAEA Board".
Mr. ElBaradei urged Iran to intensify cooperation with the IAEA and pursue the policy of maximum transparency and confidence-building in order to close the 'nuclear file' in the near future and build the world community's confidence that Iran did not develop its own nuclear weapons.
Earlier on Monday, Russia's deputyforeign minister Yuri Fedotov stated that "it is to early to submit the issue on the Iranian nuclear programs to the UN Security Council for consideration".
Commenting on the statement, a high-ranking Iranian representative in the IAEA told RIA Novosti that Iran appreciates Russia's position on this issue. Iran also sees the cooperation with Moscow in the area of peaceful use of nuclear energy as its sovereign right (since mid-1990s Russian experts have been building a nuclear power plant in Busher on the Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf).
In the opinion of the source participating in the session of the IAEA Board, Mr. Fedotov's statement shows that Moscow understands the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear programs. He expressed hope that Russia's position would exert respective influence upon the IAEA Board's resolution, which would be adopted following debates on Mr. ElBaradei's report on the status and prospects of the Iranian nuclear projects development.
