Vienna, Sept 18: The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chose a new governing board today, and the regular rotation of countries represented meant that Iran, a country accused of breaching the body's rules, is no longer a member, a spokesman for the watchdog agency said. Spain is to take over from Kuwait as chairman of the 35-nation board, which makes key decisions such as deciding last week to impose an October 31 deadline on Iran to prove it is not secretly developing atomic weapons.

Spain is to be chosen as chair when the new board meets for the first time in Vienna on Monday.

Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Akbar Salehi, told news agencies "it's better to be on the board but we can still raise our voice and defend our position" since Iran can be present at meetings as an observer.
IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky said that the appointment of the new board today at a general conference of the 137-member IAEA was an "annual rotation of board members."

He said the board's composition was a "formula with certain seats allocated to each region so that the balance more or less stays the same."

Iran is replaced for the Middle East and South Asia region by Pakistan, a country which possesses nuclear weapons.
Key nuclear powers Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States are permanent members of the board.

Bureau Report