IAEA Inspectors in Tehran - 2003-10-01

IAEA inspectors have arrived in Tehran in another attempt to determine whether Iran has a program to produce nuclear weapons. The team is led by Pierre Goldschmidt, a Belgian, who is scheduled to meet with senior officials of the Islamic Republic today. Mr. Goldschmidt stated in Vienna on Wednesday that significant progress is expected. His remarks coincided with statements from the Iranian Foreign Minister. Mr. Kharrazi told reporters that Tehran will do everything it can to prevent the IAEA from referring Iran's nuclear program to the Security Council. Mr. Kharrazi promised greater cooperation with the inspectors, but also emphasized that Iran does not wish to allow unlimited inspections of its nuclear facilities without guarantees of its right to enrich uranium. The United States is suspicious that Iran is enriching uranium to produce a nuclear bomb. Previous IAEA inspections revealed traces of weapon-grade uranium at two sites in Iran. Tehran linked these findings to contaminated equipment imported from another country and insists that its nuclear activities are peaceful in nature. On Tuesday, Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the IAEA, warned that the agency's inspectors would not be able to verify Tehran's statements to the board without full access. In such a case, the board would have to report the issue to the Security Council for potential economic and diplomatic sanctions against Iran.