U.N. official's trip to Iran seen as a risk

VIENNA, Austria — Shrugging off U.S. opposition, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency will go to Tehran next week in an attempt to get nuclear concessions from the Iranian leadership, diplomats and officials said Friday.

While the trip was meant to defuse tensions generated by fears Iran could be seeking atomic weapons, a partial success by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei could exacerbate differences on the U.N. Security Council and derail U.S. hopes of firm action.

Iran could commit to meet some Security Council requests while falling short of demands to freeze uranium enrichment, a possible pathway to nuclear arms. That could placate Russia and China, which oppose tough anti-Iran moves, but fall short of full compliance sought by the United States, France and Britain. The five countries wield veto power as permanent Security Council members.

The 15-nation council, which can impose sanctions, already is split along East-West lines on how tough it should be against Iran. If ElBaradei receives commitments that please Moscow and Beijing, that would further complicate U.S.-led efforts to secure a firmly worded resolution demanding Iran comply.

The U.S. mission recently urged ElBaradei not to go and France and Britain backed that request, diplomats said.