Asia

Asia

U.N. nuclear body, Iran clash over barred inspectors

13 September 2010 18:31 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The head of the U.N. atomic watchdog said on Monday Iran’s barring of experienced nuclear inspectors was hampering the agency’s work in the Islamic state, but Tehran flatly rejected the accusation, APA reports quoting â€œReutersâ€.
Signaling a desire for continuity at the International Atomic Energy Agency at a time of strained ties with Tehran, Director-General Yukiya Amano named a senior Iran expert and IAEA insider as its new top investigator, diplomats said.
Herman Nackaerts, who now oversees inspections in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East as well as South Asia and Africa, will succeed former boss Olli Heinonen as head of the IAEA division which verifies that nuclear work in member states worldwide is not being diverted for military use.
"There was no dissent," a diplomat said on the sidelines of a closed-door meeting of the IAEA’s 35-nation governing board, where Amano earlier criticized Iran over the barred inspectors.
Heinonen, a Finn, resigned as deputy director-general in charge of global nuclear safeguards in July for personal reasons after nearly 30 years at the Vienna-based body.
Nackaerts, 59, from Belgium, will take up the top inspection job in the midst of a public row over Iran’s refusal to admit some inspectors.
The dispute has compounded international concern about Iran’s nuclear programme, which Western powers suspect is aimed at developing atomic bombs. Iran denies this, saying it is enriching uranium only for generating electricity.
In June Iran barred two inspectors who had worked in the country, telling them they could not return. Their nationalities have not been disclosed. Tehran also canceled access for a high-ranking Middle East inspector in 2006 and objected to a number of other inspector designations in the past.
"I learned with great regret about Iran’s decision to object to the designation of two inspectors who recently conducted inspections in Iran," Amano said in a speech to the board.
IRAN CRITICISES NUCLEAR REPORTS
Iran has accused the two of distributing "false" information about its nuclear activities. But Amano told the board he had full confidence in their "professionalism and impartiality."
"Iran has not provided the necessary cooperation to permit the Agency to confirm that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities," the veteran Japanese diplomat said, according to a copy of his speech made behind closed doors.
"Iran’s repeated objection to the designation of inspectors with experience in Iran’s nuclear fuel cycle and facilities hampers the inspection process," he added.
Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, told reporters: "I categorically reject this statement" by Amano that Tehran’s behavior was hindering inspection activity.
Soltanieh, who criticized the IAEA’s latest report on Iran as unbalanced and as damaging to its credibility, said the IAEA had more than 150 inspectors at its disposal for Iran.
The report said Iran was pushing ahead with its nuclear work in defiance of tougher sanctions, and voiced growing frustration over what the IAEA sees as Iran’s failure to address concerns about possible military dimensions to its activities.
Iran has the right to refuse certain inspectors under its non-proliferation accord with the IAEA. But Western diplomats said repeated rejections would chill nuclear safeguards work because inspectors would fear reprisals if they reported candidly on certain aspects of Iran’s activity.
If Iran continues to refuse inspectors it could face diplomatic consequences at the IAEA, whose governors referred Iran’s dossier to the U.N. Security Council in 2006 over its nuclear secrecy and lack of full cooperation.
Relations between Iran and the IAEA have deteriorated since Amano took over as head of the agency in December.
He has taken a sharper approach on Iran than his predecessor Mohamed ElBaradei, saying in reports to the board since then that Iran could be trying to develop a nuclear-armed missile now, instead of only at some point in the past.
Iran has accused Amano of issuing misleading and politicized reports about its nuclear programme.