Iran Agrees to Timetable for Nuclear Inspections by U.N.

Iran agreed Tuesday to a timetable for nuclear inspections and to submit full details of its program and ambitions in mid-May, said Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency.

Iranian nuclear chief Gholamreza Aghazadeh “committed that Iran will do everything possible to accelerate the process of resolving the outstanding issues,” ElBaradei told reporters after talks here.

But Iran also pressed for U.N. inspections to be finished by June.

The IAEA is seeking clarification on how traces of weapons-grade uranium came to be found at the Natanz enrichment plant south of Tehran and at a secret nuclear workshop outside the capital called Kalaye Electric Co.

Enriched uranium can be used to fuel nuclear power stations, and further enrichment can make it suitable for use in warheads.

The U.S. accuses Iran of pursuing a nuclear arms program; Tehran says its nuclear ambitions are confined to generating electricity. Hawks in Washington are seeking to get the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions against Iran.

Tehran promised Britain, France and Germany in October that it would suspend uranium enrichment and accept unannounced inspections.

The IAEA also wants answers on Iran’s omissions of key information from an October statement, including research on advanced P2 centrifuges, which can make weapons-grade uranium.

Aghazadeh told reporters that Tehran had asked for inspectors to conclude their work before the IAEA board of governors held its next meeting in June. Iran’s conduct will be reviewed at that event.