No verification Iran has halted N-programs

WASHINGTON – The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency was unable to confirm Thursday that Iran had completely suspended its nuclear programs, as it committed to doing, because the Islamic republic said it wanted to continue working with some of its equipment.

Iran’s request to operate 20 centrifuges for research and development was rejected by European diplomats who said such an arrangement would spell the end for a deal Tehran had just signed promising to suspend all its nuclear work.

“The agreement still looks good,” one European diplomat said, speaking on condition of not being identified. “But their latest request is unacceptable to us and could obviously be a deal-breaker.”

It marked the third time in less than 10 days that Iran sought to alter its deal with France, Britain and Germany or take advantage of ambiguities in the language of the agreement not foreseen by the European trio.

The Iranian tactics have irked the Europeans who have worked hard to convince Washington and others that diplomacy can effectively quell nuclear threats.

The Bush administration believes Iran should be reported to the Security Council for its 18 years of secret nuclear efforts that could be used to build an atomic bomb. But Washington’s drive was halted 10 days ago when Iran entered into an agreement with Europe to freeze its nuclear programs in exchange for assurances it would not be reported to the council.

Under the terms of their accord, Iran’s suspension was to be verified Thursday by the head of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei. Representatives of the four countries were then expected to begin negotiations for a permanent end to Iran’s nuclear programs in exchange for lucrative trade deals with Europe.

ElBaradei told the 35 members of the agency’s board, which began two days of meetings Thursday, that he was “still in discussion with the Iranian authorities on this request for exemption,” and he expected the issue to be resolved by today. Board members have been negotiating a statement on Iran’s case that was supposed to welcome the new commitments and make clear that any violation of the deal could lead to Security Council action against Iran.

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said the text was unacceptable and needed to be revised.

Much of the wrangling is focusing on two U.S. proposals for the document: a request for more aggressive IAEA inspections in Iran and an unambiguous threat to send Iran directly to the council if it breaks any part of its deal with the Europeans.

U.S. and European diplomats said the United States was unlikely to succeed with either request.

Iran is under no legal obligation to accept the board’s request, but doing so would be viewed by the board as a measure of good faith.

The IAEA has been investigating Iran for two years and has found numerous sites, equipment and work that should have been reported to the agency as part of Iran’s obligations to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

But in a report to the board that was discussed Thursday in Vienna, ElBaradei made clear his inspectors haven’t found any evidence of a nuclear weapons program.