Cheat-And-Retreat Draws Expected Response
Look out, Iran. The UN’s atomic watch weasel Mohamed ElBaradei is seriously concerned. And he’s ratcheting up the rhetoric, from “hoping” to urging: U.N Atomic Watchdog Not Through with Iran Yet. The gloves are really coming off now.
“I am seriously concerned that Iran’s October declaration did not include any reference to its possession of P2 centrifuge designs and related (research and development), which in my view was a setback to Iran’s stated policy of transparency,” he said.
He was addressing the board of governors of the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as they began a closed-door meeting to consider how to proceed with Iran.
Iranian ambassador Pirooz Hosseini told reporters Tehran was the victim of a “war of propaganda” and that Iranian officials had been misquoted by the media last year as saying the October dossier was complete.
“At the time…we were not obliged to announce everything,” he said, in remarks contrasting with Iranian comments at the time.
Iran says it is building a nuclear program purely to generate electricity. Washington accuses Tehran of systematic deception and says it is bent on acquiring nuclear weapons.
ElBaradei urged Tehran to ensure full transparency and help restore international confidence by “taking the initiative to provide all relevant information in full detail and in a prompt manner.”