Iran to allow snap atomic inspections if case returned to IAEA

Iran's deputy nuclear chief said Saturday that Tehran would agree to United Nations supervision of its uranium enrichment process and intrusive inspections of its atomic facilities if its case was referred back to the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The offer came a day after the U.S. called a summit of foreign ministers from Germany and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council in New York on May 9 to discuss a united response to Iran's nuclear program.

But Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, said Iran would not yield to UN demands that it abandon uranium enrichment, and criticised the report by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei.

ElBaradei said UN checks in Iran had been hampered and Tehran had rebuffed requests to stop making nuclear fuel.

"The report was not completely satisfactory for us and we believe that the report could have been done better than that," Saeedi told state television.

However, Saeedi insisted Iran would be able to answer ElBaradei's concerns about the access granted to UN inspectors if Tehran's nuclear dossier were dropped by the UN Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions.

Besides standing firm on enrichment, Saeedi also said Iran was pushing forward with further technological developments.

Iran was installing two more 164-centrifuge cascades at its uranium enrichment plant in Natanz, central Iran.

"[Uranium enrichment in] Natanz is continuing its work well... two other cascades [of 164-machine centrifuges] are being installed," Saeedi said.

Scientists were also studying more advanced centrifuges than those Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced research on earlier this month. The more sophisticated equipment speeds up the enrichment process.

"What we are conducting research on is not only P-2 but even more advanced machines," Saeedi said, adding that Iran had not moved beyond using the P-1 centrifuges.

"Our efforts are to use the most sophisticated machines, like in Germany, Netherlands, Japan and Brazil," he said.

West to seek UN action on Iranian bomb threat

BRITAIN and its allies will seek a tough new resolution at the United Nations next week after a report from the world�s nuclear watchdog said that Iran was accelerating its uranium enrichment programme.
Britain, acting in concert with France, Germany and the United States, will ask the 15-nation Security Council to pass a mandatory resolution declaring Iran�s nuclear programme a threat to international peace and security and ordering it to suspend its enrichment work.

But even as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delivered its report, President Ahmadinejad made clear that Iran would not back down. He told a rally that �we do not give a damn about such resolutions� and said that the Islamic republic could soon become a superpower. �Enemies think that by threatening us . . . they can dissuade our country from obstaining nuclear technology,� he said. �We will not back down.�

The British move � a prelude to possible sanctions � follows Iran�s refusal to comply with the UN�s 30-day deadline for freezing its enrichment programme that expired yesterday. The Vienna-based IAEA reported that Iran had ignored the Security Council�s demands and was stepping up its enrichment work.

Tests confirmed that Iran�s newly built 164-centrifuge cascade had indeed succeeded in enriching uranium to 3.6 per cent, as Iran claimed this month. The agency said that Iran was building two additional 164-machine cascades.

The IAEA report also highlighted Iran�s failure to hand over a copy of a 15-page document dealing with the production and casting of uranium metal into hemispheres � a process used almost exclusively in building nuclear bombs.

The agency said that it had asked for clarification of Mr Ahmadinejad�s assertion that Iran was �presently conducting research� with advanced P2 centrifuges, which can enrich uranium up to four times faster than the P1 machines that Tehran is known to possess.

�Gaps remain in the agency�s knowledge with respect to the scope and content of Iran�s centrifuge programme,� the IAEA report said. �Because of this, and other gaps in the agency�s knowledge, including the role of the military in Iran�s nuclear programme, the agency is unable to make progress in its efforts to provide assurance about the absence of un- declared nuclear material and activities in Iran.�

President Bush said that Iran�s intransigence was �not acceptable� but insisted that the US still wanted to resolve the issue through peaceful and diplomatic means.

China and Russia both oppose making mandatory the demand that Iran halt all enrichment-related activities, which they see as a prelude to sanctions

U.N. confirms Iran has enriched uranium

Sources say report to Security Council criticizes non-compliance

An International Atomic Energy Agency report released today to the Security Council confirms Iran successfully has enriched uranium-235 at Natanz in the four months since the plant was re-opened, according to WND columnist Jerome Corsi, citing sources in New York.

The sources said the report is critical of Iran's continued non-compliance with IAEA inspection demands.

A spokesman at the IAEA in Austria told Corsi today the report is "secret" until the next IAEA meeting but many Security Council members are "leaky" and it probably will be circulated by one of the 28 nations that received a copy this morning.

This morning, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is widely quoted in world media saying Iran "won't give a damn" about any Security Council resolutions concerning its nuclear program.

Meanwhile, in a press conference today, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton told reporters the U.S. would move for a Security Council resolution demanding Iran stop its uranium enrichment at Natanz.

The Jerusalem Post reported Monday Israel has made improvements to its Arrow 2 missile system in order to intercept Iranian Shahab-3 missiles armed with multiple warheads and equipped with decoy systems designed to evade anti-missile defenses.

Israel has two operational Arrow 2 batteries � one at Palmahim to protect Tel Aviv, the other at Ein Shemer near Hadera, in northern Israel, near the Mediterranean Sea.