Iran Admits Plutonium Separation Experiments to UN

Iran's government told United
Nations inspectors it continued separating plutonium five years
after declaring an end to the work, the UN nuclear agency said.
The process may be used in the production of an atomic bomb.
The Islamic republic informed the International Atomic
Energy Agency May 25 that it conducted plutonium-separation
experiments until 1998, after previously saying those
activities stopped in 1993, according to a report expected to
be made today to the IAEA board by Deputy Director General
Pierre Goldschmidt. A copy of his remarks was obtained by
Bloomberg News.
``It is evident that Iran has not come clean about its
past, or present nuclear activities,'' said Jackie Sanders,
President George W. Bush's envoy on nuclear non-proliferation,
to the IAEA board. ``It continues to deny requested IAEA access
to people, places and information.''
The discovery that Iran continued to separate plutonium
may follows a dispute over Iran's enrichment of uranium, which
can also be used in a nuclear weapon. Today's U.S. statement
demanded that Iran stop all activities associated with the
nuclear fuel cycle. The Bush administration has said Iran is
using its nuclear power program to disguise weapons
development.
The U.S. State Department last month said it would
recommend that the IAEA refer Iran to the UN Security Council
for sanctions if it re-starts processing uranium. The so-called
EU-3, comprised of French, German and U.K. diplomats, are
negotiating with the Iranians to avoid a Security Council
referral by offering potential trade benefits in exchange for
the Islamic Republic's abandonment of enrichment activities.
``Iran has put forward a comprehensive framework which
incorporates guarantees on all the issues which have been
subject to negotiations,'' Iran's IAEA representative Mohammad
Akhondzadeh said about the country's negations with the EU-3.
The EU-3 is expected to present a proposal to the Iranians next
month, Akhondzadeh said.
The U.S. ``continues to offer its full support to the
ongoing diplomatic efforts,'' Saunders said.

Centrifuge Parts

Iran's lack of documentation about agreements to import
nuclear centrifuge parts is also hampering the UN investigation
to determine whether its atomic technology program is only
intended to generate electricity, according to Goldschmidt's
report to the Vienna-based IAEA's board.
The agency requested documentation outlining a 1994
proposal to supply Iran with nuclear centrifuges, along with
customs documents to learn whether the parts had entered the
country, Goldschmidt wrote. Iran wasn't able to satisfy the
inspectors' requests, according to his report.
Iran, with the world's second-largest oil reserves, is
undergoing IAEA inspections to ensure that its nuclear program
is designed to produce energy and not weapons.
``We wish one day to have the opportunity to welcome back
to the international community an Iran that behaves
constructively and is in compliance with its obligations,''
Saunders said. ``But we will not accept a nuclear weapons-
capable Iran.''
IAEA Director General Mohammed ElBaradei on June 13 told
the agency's board that Iran was making ``progress'' in its
effort to show that its nuclear program isn't violating
international treaties.
``Iran has facilitated agency access, under its safeguards
agreement and additional protocol, to nuclear materials and
facilities,'' ElBaradei said.