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ElBaradei: 'Cap, not halt Iran's program'
16 May 2007
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Mohamed ElBaradei has suggested that the international community limit Iran's developing uranium enrichment capability, rather than try to stop it.

ElBaradei's comments came as his agency's inspectors found Iran's program progressing faster than expected. According to a report in the New York Times, a short-notice inspection of the Natanz enrichment plant revealed 1300 centrifuges in operation.

Western powers have repeatedly called for suspensions of Iran's enrichment program, which would foster good faith as well as delay research and development. However, IAEA experts now think Iran has overcome previous technical difficulties and will eventually reach industrial scale enrichment, as already proclaimed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Another suspension of enrichment is a requirement of recent UN Security Council resolution, but Iran's progress is now said to make the time-wasting benefit of suspension irrelevant. ElBaradei said the purposes of suspension had "been overtaken by events."

Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and its Additional Protocol, which allows IAEA inspectors to verify that nuclear materials are fully accounted for and being used only for civil purposes. However, Iran is free to withdraw from the NPT and expel the IAEA from the country. Should its leaders choose to do so, it could then go on to manufacture nuclear weapons in a matter of months.

ElBaradei said: "The focus now should be to stop them from going to industrial scale production, to allow us to do a full-court-press inspection and to be sure they remain inside the treaty."

The UN Security Council deadline for a suspension of enrichment is 23 May. After that the IAEA will report to the Council on compliance and the Council may choose to impose further sanctions on Iran.

Further information

International Atomic Energy Agency

WNA's Uranium Enrichment information paper
WNA's Iraq, North Korea & Iran - Implications for Safeguards information paper

WNN: Iran defiant as UN imposes further sanctions 
WNN: INSIGHT BRIEFING: Iranrebuked by sanctions