Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), Ali Akbar Salehi, told an Iranian news agency the IAEA
had all the information it needed to produce a report showing
Iran was pursuing a purely civilian nuclear energy program.
"Iran's will is to remove all the agency's ambiguities and
to take all necessary steps to enable the agency to present a
positive report to its governor's board," Salehi told the
student news agency ISNA.
Iran gave the IAEA its report on October 23, detailing
nuclear activities Washington suspects are a smokescreen for
building atomic weapons. An Iranian official told Reuters the
declaration was "comprehensive, transparent and faultless."
The IAEA had given Tehran an ultimatum to prove by October
31 that it has no secret arms program, or be reported to the
U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.
But IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said on Friday it would
take at least two more weeks to determine whether Iran's report
proved it was not trying to build "The Bomb."
"It is too early, but I hope that we will be able to verify
what the Iranians have assured us -- that this is a
comprehensive and accurate declaration," ElBaradei told Reuters
during a visit to U.N. headquarters.
ElBaradei told reporters he would probably not be able to
complete checking Iran's declaration by the time he reports to
the IAEA's Board of Governors in the second week of November
"but I hope we'll have made substantial progress by that time."
In Moscow, a source in the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry
said Iran would announce next week exactly when it would sign
up to allowing the IAEA to conduct surprise nuclear
inspections.
The announcement of when Iran will sign the Additional
Protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) allowing
snap inspections, is expected when Iranian National Security
Council Chief Hassan Rohani visits Moscow next week.
"He is widely expected to announce the date of the signing,
and I think the expectations are correct. It is highly likely
he will give a date," the Russian source said.
ElBaradei said on Thursday Iran's report seemed to be
comprehensive at first glance, but more work needed to be done
by U.N. inspectors still inside Iran.
"We are optimistic about the future," said Salehi. "We hope
that soon Iran's nuclear case will be closed for ever." He said
the IAEA inspectors would leave Iran on Sunday.
NUCLEAR TENSION IN IRAN
A fierce debate blew up inside Iran after the IAEA set the
deadline for Tehran to come clean about its nuclear program.
Reformists allied to President Mohammad Khatami (news - web sites) argued in
favor of tougher inspections but were opposed by hard-liners.
On October 21 Tehran agreed to stop enriching uranium and
sign the Additional Protocol, saying the decision had the
blessing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's most
powerful figure. Conservatives stopped criticizing the
decision.
"I suggest you do not express your views when you are not
an expert and are not familiar with a sensitive issue,"
Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati told worshippers on Friday at Tehran
University.
Last month, Jannati said the Additional Protocol was an
extraordinary humiliation for Iran and should never be
accepted.
Nevertheless, some 1,500 hard-liners protested the decision
on Friday.
(Additional reporting by Irwin Arieff in New York and the
Moscow bureau)
