Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2010 – Iran today said International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano had undermined his reputation as an impartial arbiter by criticizing the Middle
Eastern nation’s decision to veto the appointment of two veteran IAEA inspectors, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Sept. 13).
The IAEA chief yesterday expressed “great regret” over the move in remarks at a meeting of his agency’s 35-nation governing board. The officials had identified unreported atomic work in the Iran, but Tehran said the two were banned because their findings were incorrect.
“Amano’s comments not only hurt his credibility, but are an insult to other agency inspectors,” Iranian Atomic Energy Agency head Ali Akbar Salehi said.
“If he said these things knowingly, he has made a big mistake and it is very dangerous because it shows that he has been under political pressure,” the official said. “If he has made the remarks unknowingly, then he is at fault and should take his time to learn about the agency regulations” (Agence France-Presse I/Spacewar.com, Sept. 14).
Amano said in his report to the board that Iran’s moves had impaired the investigation of the nation’s nuclear program and that its atomic intentions remained unclear, the Associated Press reported.
Iranian Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency Ali Asghar Soltanieh countered that “we request the director general to immediately reconsider this sort of reporting … so that it will not create political tensions.”
Safeguards inspectors are responsible for ensuring that a non-nuclear weapon state’s atomic resources are used strictly for peaceful purposes. The United States and other nations suspect Iran’s nuclear program is geared toward weapons development; Tehran has insisted its atomic ambitions are strictly civilian in nature.
The issue was “not the number of inspectors, but the quality and experience,” Amano said.
“I can assure you that the safeguard process is remaining effective,” he said. “But if unchecked, the repeated objection to the designation of inspectors will be problematic” (George Jahn, Associated Press/Washington Post, Sept. 13).
Amano said the U.N. nuclear watchdog was investigating an Iranian resistance group’s assertion that Tehran was building an undisclosed uranium enrichment facility, Reuters reported (see GSN, Sept. 10).
“We are aware of this information through media reports and we are now assessing this information, but at this stage we do not have anything more to share with you,” Amano said, noting his organization had received no information on the claims prior to their public announcement last week.
Tehran has denied the claim, which has been viewed skeptically by observers (Reuters I, Sept. 13).
The agency’s latest Iran safeguards report “is the clearest evidence yet that Iran is refusing to address the proliferation concerns of the international community, No. 1, and No. 2, much more ominously that it appears determined to acquire a nuclear weapons capability,” U.S. Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency Glyn Davies said.
The report was “a source of concern,” U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon added.
Iranian officials “should have provided necessary cooperation to permit the agency to confirm that all their nuclear material in Iran is for peaceful activities,” he said. “Again I urge (Iran) this time to cooperate to the fullest extent possible with the IAEA and to work toward resolving all outstanding issues” (Jahn, AP).
Ban said he would address Iran’s disputed atomic work in talks with the nation’s leaders during the next U.N. General Assembly meeting, RIA Novosti reported.
“On numerous occasions I have been urging and use this opportunity to urge again Iran to extend its cooperation with the (International Atomic Energy Agency) and to resolve all outstanding issues. I will have an opportunity to meet with the officials from the Iranian leadership, possibly with [Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] during the General Assembly,” he said (RIA Novosti, Sept. 13).
Ahmadinejad is expected to attend talks during the U.N. meeting focused on ending a stalemate in international disarmament negotiations, Reuters quoted Ban as saying (see GSN, June 22).
“The schedule has not been firmly set, but I understand he (Ahmadinejad) is going to participate in the high-level meeting on disarmament,” he said (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters II, Sept. 13).
Meanwhile, the Obama administration has left unclear how tough a posture it intends to adopt against Iran in the near future, the New York Times reported. President Barack Obama’s discussion of the matter with reporters last month left the journalists divided with regard to his intent, according to the newspaper (see GSN, Aug. 5).
Although CIA Director Leon Panetta has warned economic penalties were unlikely to sway Iran’s nuclear policy while other administration officials have hinted at a possible military strike on Iran, one analyst said the remarks “have no effect on Iran.”
“It appears to me that this is done less to scare Iran than to silence critics on talk radio here in America. It would be desirable for the United States to have credible use of force in relation to Iran, but in my view we do not,” said George Perkovich, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (John Vinocur, New York Times, Sept. 13).
Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, though, yesterday warned top Iranian officials to take the international sanctions seriously, AFP reported.
“Throughout the revolution, we never had so many sanctions (imposed on Iran) and I am calling on you and all officials to take the sanctions seriously and not as jokes,” state media quoted Rafsanjani as telling Iran’s Assembly of Experts.
“Over the past 30 years we had a war and military threats, but never have we seen such arrogance to plan a calculated assault against us,” he said. “Never have we had so many resolutions from international institutions such as the U.N. Security Council and the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and governments against us” (Agence France-Presse II/Spacewar.com, Sept. 14).
“Iran has such a big capacity that it is able to overcome (the sanctions), but I am doubtful that these capacities are being utilized in a proper way,” Reuters quoted him as saying (Reuters III, Sept. 14).
Penalties on its energy sector could soon take a toll on Iran’s ability to export crude petroleum, a major revenue source for the country, the Financial Times reported (Javier Blas, Financial Times, Sept. 13).
Tehran believes that international gasoline supply currently exceeds demand, creating conditions in its favor as an importer of refined oil products, Reuters quoted the Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries Governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi as saying yesterday (Reuters IV, Sept. 14).
In South Korea, Kia Motors Corp. today said it would stop delivering vehicles to Iran, AFP reported.
“South Korean government sanctions … were part of the decision,” company spokesman Michael Choo said (Agence France-Presse III/Google News, Sept. 14).
Source: Global Security Newswire
Photo: Yukiya Amano, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks after an IAEA meeting in Vienna. Amano said Tehran is not fully co-operating with his nuclear inspectors. (Ronald Zak/Associated Press)
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