Fears Iran has material for nuclear bomb

Published on Wednesday 9 September 2009 22:08

THE United States has voiced concerns Iran may already have stockpiled enough enriched uranium to build a nuclear bomb.

US envoy Glyn Davies told a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) 35-nation board in Vienna yesterday: "We have serious concerns that Iran is deliberately attempting, at a minimum, to preserve a nuclear weapons option.

"Iran is now either very near or in possession already of sufficient low-enriched uranium to produce one nuclear weapon if the decision were made to further enrich it to weapons-grade … (This] moves Iran closer to a dangerous and destabilising possible breakout capacity."

However, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog chief said there was no cause for panic. IAEA director-general Mohamed ElBaradei said his non-proliferation inspectors had "serious concerns (about Iran's nuclear intentions] but we are not in a state of panic".

He added: "That is because we have not seen diversion of nuclear material (from declared civilian uses]; we have not seen components of nuclear weapons."

ElBaradei was effectively shooting down Israeli and French suggestions that the IAEA was withholding stronger evidence of a covert Iranian nuclear weapons drive.

But he also said intelligence material suggesting Iran had illicitly studied how to assemble nuclear arms was serious and Tehran must address it, not just issue unsubstantiated denials.

"If this information is real, there is a high probability that nuclear weaponisation activities took place (in Iran]," he said.

The latest agency report describes how Iran now has at least 1,430kg of low-enriched uranium hexafluoride. Iran insists its programme is peaceful and aimed at generating electricity.

President Barack Obama and European allies have given Iran until the end of this month to take up an offer of talks with six world powers and trade incentives, should it suspend uranium enrichment activities. If not, Iran could face harsher sanctions.

The warnings were made hours before Iran's foreign minister presented world powers with his country's proposals for new talks. Foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki gave a package of proposals to diplomats representing the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany in a meeting in Tehran.

The details of Iran's proposals are not known. Although the US and its allies demand Iran negotiate with the West over its controversial nuclear programme, Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, says talks should tackle "global challenges" and the only nuclear issues he is prepared to discuss are peaceful uses of nuclear energy and stopping proliferation.

Iran state radio said yesterday: "Iran is ready to … help ease joint international concerns over the nuclear issue," but the report gave no specific details.

It said Iran aims to reach a "comprehensive agreement based on collective goodwill to achieve long-term co-operation and strengthen regional and global peace and security based on justice" and it added that the package looks at issues "beyond the nuclear file", including crises in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

Washington, in a conciliatory gesture, said yesterday any Iranian reply to their call for negotiations on its nuclear ambitions would be treated seriously.