IAEA says Iran not transparent enough

The IAEA chief has called for more transparency from Iran in its nuclear program, claiming that Tehran has not allowed adequate monitoring of its enrichment facilities.

As a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran conducts all its nuclear activities under the full supervision of the agency’s inspectors.

However, Yukiya Amano, IAEA director general, told the Washington Post that Iran had still not allowed his inspectors better access to the Natanz nuclear site, where Tehran started enriching uranium to higher levels in February.

Amano said although his agency was observing the enrichment to levels of 20 percent at the Natanz plant, “our arrangement is not proper as of today.”

“If this continues for a long time, we may have a problem,” he said, while admitting that there had been some progress in talks with Iranian officials.

While the US and its allies allege that Iran intends to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of its civilian program, the IAEA inspectors have found no evidence to support the allegation.

In a separate interview with McClatchy Newspapers, Amano said he would begin a new campaign to increase concerted international pressure on Iran in order to persuade the country into adopting what he called “a policy change.”

Iran has repeatedly said nuclear weapons have no place in the country’s doctrine, stressing that its nuclear program is for civilian applications of the technology.