Iraq Balking on Nuclear Data, U.N. Says

A top U.N. inspector said Thursday that Iraq is still refusing to provide key data on suppliers for its nuclear program.

But the inspector, Greek scientist Dimitri Perricos, said Iraq has agreed to list in the next 15 days the facilities used in the program.

U.N. officials insist that a complete declaration of how Iraq procured the equipment and components for its weapons programs is a key prerequisite to lifting sanctions imposed after the Gulf War.

Perricos said it is frightening how fast Iraq is able to reconstruct destroyed facilities. “It’s very important to know that the network doesn’t remain in place, because once the oil starts flowing again, they can buy anything,” he said.

Officials have said that the Iraqi nuclear program had been only a few years away from making a nuclear bomb.