IAEA report on Iran fails to stop UK, US threats

Britain and the US talk of more sanctions and pressure against Tehran as the UN watchdog confirms the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program for the 21st time.

In a Monday speech, the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown once again threatened Iran with tougher sanctions over its nuclear energy program.

“President Obama has set the deadline of the end of the year for Iran to respond and if Iran does not reconsider then the United Nations, the European Union and individual countries led by Britain will impose tougher sanctions,” he said.

Meanwhile in Washington, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said that the US would continue to press Iran to meet what he called its international nuclear obligations.

The US State Department claimed that the latest report by the UN nuclear watchdog shows that Iran is not fully in compliance with its nuclear obligations.

“The IAEA’s latest report on Iran underscores that Iran still refuses to comply fully with its international nuclear obligations,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said on Monday.

The comments came shortly after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verified the non-diversion of Iran’s nuclear program in its latest report.

The report, issued on Monday, said that Iran had allowed agency to carry out a full inspection of its second uranium enrichment facility in the central town Fordo, which is still in a construction phase.

“Iran provided access to all areas of the facility,” the report said, adding that IAEA inspectors had conducted a “detailed” visual examination of all areas of the plant, taken photographs of cascade piping and other process equipment and collected environmental samples.

According to the UN watchdog, a “detailed assessment of the design, configuration and capacity of the various plant components and systems,” was also carried out.

The report also confirmed that the country’s nascent nuclear plant in Fordo “corresponded with the design information provided by Iran.”