Shuneh (Jordan), June 22: The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, Mohammed Elbaradei, today called for greater cooperation from Iran to "clarify" some issues concerning its nuclear programme. "There are some matters that need to be clarified concerning Iran's nuclear programme and I hope Iran will cooperate with us," the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.
"Iran is cooperating but we hope for greater cooperation," Elbaradei said on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting on the shores of the Dead Sea. Asked if he planned to visit the country, Elbaradei replied, "There are visits by experts from the agency and if I see that my visit is necessary I will go".
The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Authority yesterday again rejected growing international demands for the Islamic republic to immediately allow tougher UN inspections of its nuclear programme. But Gholam Reza Aghazadeh pledged that Iran would show greater cooperation with the IAEA and said he was optimistic that further negotiations would pave the way for an end to the dispute.
The IAEA has called on Iran to sign an additional protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that would permit UN inspectors to carry out surprise visits to suspect nuclear facilities.
So far IAEA teams are only permitted to make pre-arranged visits to declared sites related to Iran's bid to produce atomic power -- a programme the United States alleges is a cover for nuclear weapons development. Bureau Report