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IAEA fears Iran working now on nuclear warhead
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IAEA fears Iran working now on nuclear warhead
Mark Heinrich
VIENNA
Thu Feb 18, 2010 3:49pm EST
Factbox
Factbox: Key points of IAEA report citing Iran atom bomb fear
3:49pm EST
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waves to journalists after a news conference in Tehran February 16, 2010.
Credit: Reuters/Raheb Homavandi
VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog fears Iran may be working now to develop a nuclear-armed missile, the agency said on Thursday, throwing independent weight behind Western suspicions of an active Iranian weapons program.
World
In unusually blunt language surfacing under new chief Yukiya Amano, an International Atomic Energy Agency report for the first time suggested Iran was actively chasing nuclear weapons capability rather than merely having done so in the past.
The IAEA seemed to be cautiously going public with suspicions arising from a classified agency analysis leaked in part last year which concluded that Iran has already honed explosives expertise relevant to a workable nuclear weapon.
The report also confirmed Iran had produced its first, small batch of uranium enriched to a higher purity -- 20 percent.
Both developments will intensify pressure on Iran to prove it is not covertly bent on "weaponising" enrichment by allowing unfettered access for IAEA inspectors and investigators, something it rejects in protest at U.N. sanctions.
The United States is already leading a push for the U.N. Security Council to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Iran because of suspicions that it may be developing nuclear weapons, and has received declarations of support from Russia, which has until now been reluctant to expand sanctions.
Tehran says its nuclear program is meant only to yield electricity or radio-isotopes for agriculture or medicine. It took a diametrically opposing view of the report's conclusions.
"The IAEA's new report confirmed Iran's peaceful nuclear activities and the country's non-deviation toward military purposes," Iran's envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, told the state news agency IRNA.
U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the United States did not understand why Iran had refused to "come to the table and engage constructively" over its nuclear program, adding: "You have to draw some conclusions from that."
INTELLIGENCE REPORTS
The IAEA has been investigating for several years Western intelligence reports indicating Iran has coordinated efforts to process uranium, test explosives at high altitude and revamp a ballistic missile cone in a way suitable for a nuclear warhead.
In 2007 the United States issued an assessment saying Iran had halted such research in 2003 and probably not resumed it.
But its key Western allies believe Iran continued the program -- and the IAEA report offered independent support for that perception for the first time.
"The information available to the agency is extensive, ... broadly consistent and credible in terms of the technical detail, the time frame in which the activities were conducted and the people and organizations involved," the report said.
"Altogether this raises concerns about the possible existence in Iran of past or current undisclosed activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile."
Amano is seen as more inclined to confront Iran than his predecessor, Mohamed ElBaradei, who retired on December 1.
"Now we see from (available intelligence) that certain activities may have continued after 2004," said a senior official close to the IAEA. "We want to find out from Iran what they've had to do with these nuclear explosive related activities."
The U.S. director of National Intelligence concluded last year that Iran would not be technically able to devise a nuclear weapon before 2013. But a new intelligence estimate is due soon.
Iran has dismissed the intelligence reports cited by the IAEA as fabrication, but failed to provide its own evidence. It has boycotted contact with the IAEA on the matter for 18 months.
The report, to be considered at a March 1-5 meeting of the IAEA's 35-nation board, said it was vital for Iran to cooperate with IAEA investigators "without further delay."
HIGHER ENRICHMENT
Last week, Iran announced a start to higher-scale enrichment, saying it was frustrated at the collapse of an IAEA-backed plan for big powers to provide it with fuel rods for nuclear medicine made from uranium refined to 20 percent purity.
The IAEA report complained that Iran had begun feeding LEU into centrifuges for higher refinement before inspectors could get to the scene in the Natanz pilot enrichment facility.
"We have expressed our dissatisfaction (about this)," said the senior official. "It is of paramount importance to have this information in a timely way to make sure there are no undeclared activities or facilities in Iran."
The powers accused Iran of reneging on an agreement to ship out two-thirds of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) reserve to be turned into fuel rods for the medical reactor. This would have prevented Iran retaining enough of the material to fuel a nuclear weapon, if it were refined to about 90 percent purity.
Only France, one party to the U.N. draft deal, and Argentina are known to possess the technology. So analysts ask why Iran would enrich uranium well above its needs, except to lay the groundwork for producing bomb-grade uranium.
The report further said that Iran had increased its LEU stockpile by some 300 kg to 2.06 tons since November -- enough for one or two nuclear bombs if enriched to 90 percent purity.
It said over nine-tenths of the LEU stockpile had been earmarked for enrichment up to 20 percent, a significant mark as further enrichment up to 90 percent may need only a few months.
But the report also attested to stagnating capacity at Natanz. It said the number of operating centrifuges had dropped to 3,772 from nearly 4,000, a fall of 25 percent over a year.
This was well under half of all the machines installed in Natanz, the report indicated. Analysts and diplomats close to the IAEA say Iran may be having serious mechanical problems in keeping thousands of antiquated centrifuges running in unison.
But the senior official said Iran appeared to be shifting focus to a second enrichment site at Fordow near Qom, which Iran has said will preserve the program if foes bomb Natanz.
(Editing by Kevin Liffey)
World
Comments
See All Comments (10) | Post Comment
Feb 18, 2010 12:32pm EST
This should be enough for the Saudi’s.
THeRmoNukE
Report As Abusive
Feb 18, 2010 12:44pm EST
Shocking news here.
derkis
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Feb 18, 2010 12:52pm EST
Is anyone worried about Israel’s knowledge how to make nuclear bombs, and their stockpile of WMDs?
boreal
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Feb 18, 2010 12:56pm EST
What is Israel saying about all of this? Ahmadinejad did say he wanted Israel wiped out of the map.
jrcandelaria20
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Feb 18, 2010 1:03pm EST
This cannot stand. We need to let Iran know that they cannot build weaponry of this sort and get away with it. The world needs to stand up and force them to stop this NOW, before we end up in nuclear warfare.
techfreak713
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Feb 18, 2010 1:04pm EST
I think we should invade them and set them straight.
billyjack13
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Feb 18, 2010 1:37pm EST
Feb 18, 2010 12:52pm ESTIs anyone worried about Israel’s knowledge how to make nuclear bombs, and their stockpile of WMDs?
___
Nope. No one is worried about that. They are only worried aobut what the brown people have gotten ahold of.
Grant_X
Report As Abusive
Feb 18, 2010 1:46pm EST
why is there always one muslim that diverts the problem to the jewish state rofl
NO IRAN IS THE ISSUE HERE JACK ASS
Imgutc2
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Feb 18, 2010 2:57pm EST
Invade Iran? Pfft, yea, because that worked out oh so well in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam! It’s funny how the very same people that complain about the national debt being so high have no problem doubling the national debt in order to send thousands of US troops to die in a failed attempt at invading other countries, but God forbid we spend a fraction of that amount within our borders!
Republicans are such hypocrites, they criticize Obama for going on a spending binge but never said a damn thing when Bush destroyed the surplus Clinton left him and left our economy in the toilette.
Cali099
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