Report: Iran Cooperates on Nuke Probe (IAEA)

[TexasLawyer]

Source: Associated Press


Report: Iran Cooperates on Nuke Probe

By GEORGE JAHN 08.30.07, 7:23 AM ET

VIENNA, Austria - The U.N. nuclear agency on Thursday called Iran's cooperation with its investigation of past suspicious atomic activities "a significant step forward," in a report expected to hamper U.S.-led efforts for new sanctions on Tehran.

At the same time, the report confirmed that Iran continued to expand its uranium enrichment program, reflecting the Islamic republic's defiance of the U.N. Security Council. Still, U.N. officials said, both enrichment and the building of a plutonium-producing reactor was continuing more slowly than expected.

IAEA Deputy Director General Olli Heinonen, who brokered the cooperation deal with Iranian officials, highlighted the importance of the agreement, noting that Tehran's past refusal to answer the agency's questions triggered Security Council sanctions in the first place.

But he cautioned that Iran still needed to fully implement its commitments, telling reporters that "the key is that Iran ... provides the information that we need" in a time frame that foresees clarity for the first time about Iran's past suspicious activities by year's end.



Read more: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/30/ap4067713.html