IAEA faces pressure on latest Iran report
Updated: Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Photographer: Wikipedia Commons
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12:05GMT—8:05AM/EST
Washington, 26 August (WashingtonTV)—The International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] is to release its latest report on Iran’s nuclear program this week, as major powers prepare to discuss harsher sanctions against Tehran.
Diplomats say that the United States and its European allies are pressing the nuclear watchdog to make public evidence that they believe points towards Iran’s efforts to acquire a nuclear weapons capability.
The Obama administration views the information as potentially crucial to its efforts to rally international support for new economic sanctions against Iran, according to the Wall Street Journal.
But IAEA officials say that the agency’s chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, has resisted a public airing, fearing that such a presentation would make the agency appear biased toward the West, reports the New York Times.
And a diplomat close to the IAEA told Reuters that it has no evidence showing undeniably that Iran is seeking a nuclear bomb.
The report is expected to be released on Thursday or Friday in Vienna.
Iran says its nuclear program has solely peaceful aims, such as generating electricity. The United Nations Security Council has imposed three rounds of sanctions against Tehran for refusing to suspend its uranium enrichment activities.
Sources: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Reuters
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