U.S. Moved Uranium Without U.N. Authority

The United States did not have authorization from the U.N. nuclear watchdog when it secretly shipped from Iraq uranium and highly radioactive material that could be used in so-called dirty bombs, U.N. officials said Wednesday.

The nearly 2 tons of low-enriched uranium and about 1,000 highly radioactive items transferred from Iraq to the United States last month had been placed under seal by the International Atomic Energy Agency at the Tuwaitha nuclear complex, 12 miles south of Baghdad, the officials said.

“The American authorities just informed us of their intention to remove the materials, but they never sought authorization from us,” said Gustavo Zlauvinen, head of the IAEA’s New York office.

U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham on Tuesday disclosed the secret airlift from Iraq as “a major achievement” in an attempt to “keep potentially dangerous nuclear material out of the hands of terrorists.” The material was taken to an undisclosed U.S. Energy Department laboratory for further analysis.

The airlift ended June 23, five days before the United States transferred sovereignty to Iraq’s new interim government.

IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei said in a letter to the U.N. Security Council circulated Wednesday that Washington informed the agency June 19 that “due to security concerns” it intended to transfer some nuclear material stored at Tuwaitha to the United States.

According to the letter, the United States informed the atomic agency June 30 that about 1.8 tons of uranium, enriched to a level of 2.6%; 6.6 pounds of low-enriched uranium; and about 1,000 highly radioactive sources had been transferred June 23.