Americas

Americas

U.S. expects strong, unified message to Iran from IAEA

18 November 2011 00:11 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The U.S. expects a "strong and unified" message to Iran from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the State Department on Thursday, as the UN nuclear watchdog is about to decide on a resolution regarding the Iran nuclear issue, APA reports.

"We’re optimistic that the board of governors is going to send a very strong and unified message to Iran that it needs to come clean about its nuclear program," said State Department spokesman Mark Toner.

"As we’ve said many times, the international community, the P5- plus-one is increasingly concerned about Iran’s inability to address the international community’s concerns about its nuclear program," he said.

Earlier in the day, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said the information contained in the agency’s latest report on Iran’s nuclear program is credible. The report alleged that Iran had carried out "organized and systematical" activities "specific to nuclear weapons" at least until the end of 2003.

A resolution on the Iranian issues is expected to be discussed during the two-day IAEA board meeting, as the United States and its allies have been pushing for new sanctions against Iran.

"The Board of Governors is meeting. We believe that it’s going to send a very clear message to Iran that the international community, the Board of Governors, and IAEA are very concerned in asking Iran to address those concerns," said Toner.

He added that the U.S. is looking and consulting with its partners on ways to "strengthen the existing sanctions against Iran and take additional measures to increase pressure."