IAEA Vote on Inspections of Iran's Nuclear Facilities - 2003-09-10

It is expected that today, Wednesday, September 9, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will announce its vote regarding the inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities. According to the proposed solution by the IAEA, the Iranian government is to be given a specific date to disclose all information related to the nuclear facilities currently under discussion. This proposed solution, which is also supported by the United States, was presented at the IAEA board meeting held in Vienna. This solution obligates Iran to fully cooperate with the United Nations by the deadline of October 31. Countries such as Japan, Britain, France, and Germany participated in drafting the proposal. A similar proposal was put forward by South Africa, but it lacks a specific date. Kenneth Brill, the U.S. ambassador at the meeting, stated that the United States believes Iran has been evading compliance with United Nations safeguards. Nevertheless, Mr. Brill mentioned that it would be better to give Iran another opportunity to end its evasions of the IAEA's obligations. The United States had pressured the IAEA board to refer Iran's violations to the UN Security Council. However, Washington ultimately changed its mind and joined the group of countries that agreed to give Iran a specific deadline to encourage it to act as quickly as possible in this regard and to compel Iran to reveal its readiness to submit all relevant information. Iran insists that it intends to use its nuclear facilities for energy production, but a confidential IAEA report obtained by Western newspapers last month indicates the presence of enriched uranium reserves in Iran that could be used to produce nuclear weapons.