IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei has been telling the world that there is no evidence Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, yet he’s known Iran was in possession of nuclear warhead blueprints since 2005.

VIENNA, Austria - Iran has met a key demand of the U.N. nuclear agency, handing over long-sought blueprints showing how to mold uranium metal into the shape of warheads, diplomats said Tuesday.

Iran’s decision to release the documents, which were seen by U.N. inspectors two years ago, was seen as a concession designed to head off the threat of new U.N. sanctions.

But the diplomats said Tehran has failed to meet other requests made by the International Atomic Energy Agency in its attempts to end nearly two decades of nuclear secrecy on the part of Iran.

The diplomats spoke to The Associated Press as IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei put the finishing touches on his latest report to his agency’s 35-nation board of governors for consideration next week. While ElBaradei is expected to say that Iran has improved its cooperation with his agency’s probe, the findings are unlikely to deter the United States, France and Britain from pushing for a third set of U.N. sanctions.

The agency has been seeking possession of the blueprints since 2005, when it stumbled upon them among a batch of other documents during its examination of suspect Iranian nuclear activities. While agency inspectors had been allowed to examine them in the country, Tehran had up to now refused to let the IAEA have a copy for closer perusal.

Iran has an excuse for the blueprints, of course; they were given them without asking, in a deal for some other black market nuclear components. Imagine their surprise!

That one ought to be good enough to keep the IAEA quiet for a while longer.

Iran maintains it was given the papers without asking for them during its black market purchases of nuclear equipment decades ago that now serve as the backbone of its program to enrich uranium.