IAEA chief el-Baradei hopes it's "simply a hiccup" (file photo)
9 August 2005 -- Iranian officials said today that the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has told Tehran it will remove the seals at a section of the Isfahan nuclear facility before tomorrow afternoon.
Mohammad Saidi, the deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, said the IAEA delivered the news to his agency today.
Saidi said the seals will be removed because the installation of surveillance cameras has been completed.
Iran resumed some nuclear-related activities at the Isfahan facility yesterday.
The move prompted an urgent meeting today by the IAEA board of governors.
Following that meeting, IAEA Director-General Mohammad el-Baradei said Iran's decision hopefully represented only a temporary setback.
"I would hope that this is simply a hiccup in the process and not a permanent rupture," el-Baradei said. "We have made very good progress in the last couple of years with regard to clarifying Iran's past nuclear activities, and I will report to the [IAEA] board next month again on progress made on this issue."
Russia, which is helping Iran build a nuclear power plant at Bushehr, today responded to Iran's resumption of nuclear activities by calling on Tehran to cease all uranium conversion immediately.
(AFP/Reuters)
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"IAEA Begins Emergency Session On Iran"
"Iran's New President Vows To Resist Foreign Pressure"
"Tehran Challenges Calls For Controls Of Nuclear Technology"
Saidi said the seals will be removed because the installation of surveillance cameras has been completed.
Iran resumed some nuclear-related activities at the Isfahan facility yesterday.
The move prompted an urgent meeting today by the IAEA board of governors.
Following that meeting, IAEA Director-General Mohammad el-Baradei said Iran's decision hopefully represented only a temporary setback.
"I would hope that this is simply a hiccup in the process and not a permanent rupture," el-Baradei said. "We have made very good progress in the last couple of years with regard to clarifying Iran's past nuclear activities, and I will report to the [IAEA] board next month again on progress made on this issue."
Russia, which is helping Iran build a nuclear power plant at Bushehr, today responded to Iran's resumption of nuclear activities by calling on Tehran to cease all uranium conversion immediately.
(AFP/Reuters)
Related stories:
"IAEA Begins Emergency Session On Iran"
"Iran's New President Vows To Resist Foreign Pressure"
"Tehran Challenges Calls For Controls Of Nuclear Technology"