- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Iran pledges to continue work with IAEA despite critical report

Subscribe
Iran's top nuclear official said the country will continue to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, after the agency issued a report criticizing Tehran for failure suspend uranium enrichment.
VIENNA, November 20 (RIA Novosti) - Iran's top nuclear official said the country will continue to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, after the agency issued a report criticizing Tehran for failure suspend uranium enrichment.

Official news agency IRNA quoted Mohammad Saeedi as saying on Wednesday that the country has granted inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) full access to its nuclear facilities, and will continue to do so.

Earlier on Wednesday, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei circulated a report to the agency's Board of Governors on Iran's controversial nuclear program.

The report says: "Contrary to the decisions of the Security Council, Iran has not suspended its enrichment-related activities," and that Iran "has not offered any cooperation with the agency."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted on Wednesday that his country would not cave in to Western pressure, and would continue uranium enrichment.

"Now the great powers are disappointed, as they have not the least bit of hope of breaking the Iranian people down," he said in a speech broadcast on state TV.

The IAEA Board of Governors will discuss the report when it next convenes in Vienna on 27 November.

The report says that 6,000 uranium enrichment centrifuges have already been set up at Iran's Natanz nuclear center, 3,800 of which are in operation. Iran has obtained an estimated two tons of enriched uranium since its uranium enrichment activities restarted at Natanz two years ago.

ElBaradei said that IAEA inspectors have been unable to verify whether Iran has a secret plan for nuclear weapon development, since Iran has refused to provide any support for IAEA's investigation on the nature of its nuclear plans.

Iran is under three sets of relatively mild sanctions over its nuclear program, which it insists has purely civilian goals. Western powers led by the United States, along with Israel, accuse Tehran of developing nuclear weapons.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала