The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
40°F
Current Conditions
Broken clouds
View complete weather report
Subscribe now

Iran: Agency’s verdict likely to disappoint U.S.

Ali Akbar Dareini Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran has answered most questions about its nuclear program and does not expect the U.N. atomic agency to declare it in violation of its international obligations, despite American lobbying, the foreign ministry said Sunday.

The statement came ahead of a June 14 meeting of the 35-nation IAEA’s board of governors, which has wrestled for more than a year over what to do about what the United States and its allies say is a secret Iranian nuclear weapons program.

Washington wants the IAEA to declare Iran in breach of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and refer Iran’s case to the U.N. Security Council, which may impose sanctions.

“The meeting will not produce what Iran’s opponents are looking for,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters. “The U.S. is using all its capabilities (against Iran), but certainly what it is looking for will not happen. There is no doubt about it.”

Iran has said its nuclear program is for peaceful energy purposes, not geared toward making bombs.

“Iran … has responded to all ambiguities. There is little left (of Iran’s nuclear dossier) on the IAEA’s agenda. Iran’s situation with the IAEA is very much different from the past,” Asefi said.

In Vienna, Austria, a Western diplomat who asked not to be identified said that Germany, France and Britain were working on a draft resolution praising Iran for cooperation with the IAEA but urging it to clear up remaining questions about its nuclear program.

Those three countries have at past board meetings advocated a softer line than the United States, arguing that persuasion was less risky than confrontation. But Vienna-based European diplomats have in recent days suggested that – with key questions still unanswered – patience with Iran was wearing thin.

The diplomat suggested Washington would have a chance to push for toughened language in the European draft, telling the Associated Press: “There is going to be an opportunity for the U.S. to see the resolution before its submitted.”