TEHRAN, 17 October 2003 — The UN nuclear watchdog chief said yesterday Iran had vowed to answer outstanding concerns about its nuclear program and was willing to accept tougher inspections of sites where Washington says bombs could be made.
But Iranian officials told Mohamed El-Baradei they still had misgivings about signing the Additional Protocol of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) on snap inspections and wanted to carry on negotiating the issue.
El-Baradei’s visit comes just two weeks before an Oct. 31 UN deadline for Iran to disprove US-led claims it has a secret atomic weapons program. Failure to do so could see Iran’s case referred to the UN Security Council in November.
El-Baradei arrived in Tehran overnight warning that Iran had still not provided the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with the full disclosure it was seeking.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting in Tehran with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council chief Hassan Rohani, El-Baradei said: “I was assured by Dr. Rohani that the Islamic Republic of Iran will clarify all the outstanding issues for us to be able to verify all aspects of Iran’s nuclear activities.”
Iran insists its nuclear program is geared solely to generating electricity from nuclear reactors.
Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA Ali Akbar Salehi said both sides were “totally satisfied” with the talks. “Both sides’ responsibilities were clarified in such a way that in the near future we will observe eye-catching developments,” he told reporters without elaborating.
El-Baradei said Rohani had “expressed Iran’s willingness to sign the Additional Protocol” on tougher inspections but still had some “apprehensions” about how the protocol would work.
Hard-liners in Iran have said signing the protocol would be tantamount to sanctioning spying on the country. Government officials have voiced concerns that inspectors could visit military or religious sites.
“I made it very clear that all these apprehensions are unfounded.
“I mean the protocol is never meant in any way to compromise state sovereignty, security, dignity and technology development,” El-Baradei said.
Asked by reporters whether Iran was optimistic about signing the protocol, Rohani said: “It will all become clear in the negotiations but, of course, I’m not pessimistic.”
Rohani said Iran would voice its concerns again at talks with IAEA officials in Tehran starting next week.
“What is important for us is that our considerations about national security, national sovereignty and classified information about our country be taken into account,” he said.
El-Baradei has said that while signing the Additional Protocol would be a positive step by Iran, the IAEA’s immediate priority is making sure Iran has provided it with full details on the history and development of its nuclear program to date.
