UN Watchdog Finally Condemns Iran Over Nuclear Coverup

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5AQ1BZ20091127

 

IAEA votes to rebuke Iran over nuclear cover-up

Fri Nov 27, 2009 7:34am EST

By Mark Heinrich

VIENNA (Reuters) - U.N. nuclear watchdog governors voted overwhelmingly on Friday to censure Iran for building a uranium enrichment plant in secret, and Iran said the "hasty and undue" rebuke would damage its cooperation with the agency.

The resolution was the first by the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) against Iran in almost four years, and a sign of growing alarm over Tehran's failure to dispel fears it plans to build a nuclear bomb.

It was passed with rare Russian and Chinese backing, by a 25-3 margin with six abstentions.

"This is a signal that patience is running out. We can't continue talks for talks' sake," said U.S. envoy to the IAEA Glyn Davies.

"We can't have round after round of fruitless negotiations, circular negotiations that don't get us where we want to get."

He said it was imperative for Iran to "live up to its international obligations and offer transparency in its nuclear program, rather than carry out more evasions and unilateral re-interpretations of its obligations."

But it was unclear whether the measure, sponsored by six major powers, would translate to crucial Russian-Chinese support for painful sanctions that Western leaders will push for early next year if Iran does not embark on steps to defuse mistrust.

The measure won blanket Western backing. Cuba, Malaysia and Venezuela, prominent in a developing nation bloc that includes Iran, voted "no," while Afghanistan, Brazil, Egypt, Pakistan, South Africa and Turkey abstained. Azerbaijan missed the ballot.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons, saying its atomic energy program is purely for peaceful purposes.

Its envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, called the resolution a "hasty and undue" step.

"This resolution will of course damage the existing environment of cooperation with the IAEA," he later told reporters. He said Iran would end its "voluntary gestures" of cooperation to the IAEA, but did not specify details.

Supporters of the resolution were provoked by the September revelation of a second enrichment site that Iran had been building for at least two years. It fanned suspicions there are more secret sites intended for making atom bombs.

MOUNTAIN BUNKER

The vote signaled diminishing tolerance of Iran's reluctance to embrace a plan to provide it with fuel for a medical nuclear reactor if it parts with enriched uranium that could be turned into bomb material if further refined.

The resolution urged Iran to immediately halt construction of the Fordow enrichment plant, located in a mountain bunker, and to clarify its purpose and confirm it has no more hidden atomic facilities or clandestine plans for any.

Iran has told the IAEA it developed the Fordow site in secret as a backup for other, known facilities in case they were bombed by Israel, which deems the Islamic Republic's expanding nuclear program "an existential threat."

The last IAEA board resolution slapped on Iran was in February 2006, when governors referred Tehran's dossier to the U.N. Security Council over its refusal to suspend enrichment and open up completely to IAEA inspections and investigations.

Iran had assured the IAEA last year it was not hiding any nuclear-related activities in violation of transparency rules.

Friday's resolution voiced "serious concern" at the Fordow cover-up and said this blatantly defied U.N. Security Council demands dating to 2006 for a suspension of sensitive nuclear activity to foster trust and negotiations.

Russian and Chinese support was significant since the two, who have veto power in the Security Council, have often blocked a tough united front against Iran in global policy bodies and avoided direct criticism of Tehran.

The IAEA governors also approved a plan for a uranium fuel bank, seen as a way to stem the spread of nuclear arms.

It would allow uranium producer Russia to set up an IAEA-supervised bank to provide low-enriched uranium to countries for civilian nuclear programs if they can show a perfect non-proliferation record.