Iran criticized over nuclear investigation

By George Jahn
The Associated Press

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The draft, written by France, Britain and Germany, "deplores" Iran's failure to cooperate in a "complete, timely and proactive" way, said a diplomat quoting parts of the text. He spoke on condition of anonymity.

At the same time, the diplomat said, the draft acknowledges Iranian cooperation in granting agency inspectors access to key locations, including "defense industry" sites.

While the Islamic Republic says its programs are geared solely toward producing energy, the United States and its allies say Tehran wants to build nuclear weapons.

In an allusion to Pakistan — which indirectly supplied much of Iran's covert nuclear program through renegade scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan — the draft calls for the "full and close cooperation of third countries" to clear up Iran's nuclear ambiguities.

Diplomats close to the International Atomic Energy Agency say Pakistan has refused to allow U.N. experts to independently take samples that would test Iranian assertions that traces of weapons-grade uranium found in Iran came from equipment bought from the Khan network.

If the IAEA cannot match trace samples from Pakistan and Iran, it cannot verify whether Iran's version is accurate or a cover-up.

The diplomat said the draft — circulated among delegations representing the U.N. agency's 35-nation board ahead of a meeting Monday — also focused on Iran's centrifuge program, the other main unresolved issue in the IAEA's more than yearlong investigation.

After initial denials, Tehran has acknowledged that it researched advanced centrifuges capable of uranium enrichment. But it denied it wanted to embark on full-scale enrichment, despite IAEA findings that it bought thousands of parts, far in excess of what it needed for research.

The draft called on Iran to reveal the full scope of its centrifuge program.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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