Iran Puts Off Important Nuclear Inspections

Iran took a step Friday toward confrontation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog by abruptly postponing a crucial round of inspections aimed at determining whether Tehran is trying to build a nuclear weapon.

Next week’s planned visit by inspectors from the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency will be delayed for more than a month at the request of Iranian officials, said a diplomat close to the Vienna-based agency.

Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, Pirooz Hosseini, sought to downplay the delay, saying it was a result of Iran’s New Year’s celebrations next week.

The IAEA declined to comment on the sudden change of plans, but the diplomat close to the agency said the delay demanded by Iran extended well beyond the holiday period and raised questions about Tehran’s motives.

Washington accuses Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons, but Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is intended solely to generate electricity.

Washington and some of its allies have pushed this week for a strong resolution from the IAEA board of governors that would condemn Iran’s failure to disclose all of its nuclear activities.

Countries from the board’s non-aligned bloc have pushed for more moderate language and the elimination of a warning that Iran could be referred to the U.N. Security Council if it does not get a clean bill of health by the next board meeting in June.

No compromise was reached Friday and diplomats involved in the process said that backing appeared to be fading for the tough, U.S.-backed version.

One diplomat said China and Russia thought the language was too harsh, particularly concerning future steps on Iran.

The two sides were expected to resume discussions today and one diplomat involved said it was possible that the deadlock could still be resolved.

Iran has pressed for the IAEA board to declare an end to its nuclear dispute and its leaders have expressed increasing anger at the possibility of a harsh condemnation. Some hard-liners have argued that Iran should cut its ties with the IAEA, which they believe is influenced too heavily by the United States.

Iran’s foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi, said Wednesday that Iran intended to resume enriching uranium in the near future, a step that senior officials at the IAEA said would further alarm the agency and Iran’s European allies.

Britain, France and Germany persuaded Iran in October to accept more intrusive inspections of its nuclear facilities by the IAEA and suspend its efforts to enrich uranium, which could produce fuel for reactors or weapons.

The cancellation of next week’s inspections would halt efforts by the IAEA to uncover new information about Iran’s past nuclear activities at a time of heightened concerns.

Inspectors recently uncovered a series of Iranian experiments and purchases on the nuclear black market.

Concerns were deepened by revelations about Libya’s nuclear weapons program and the role played in both Iran and Libya by the proliferation network created by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan.

Among the most pressing questions are the origins of traces of weapons-grade uranium discovered by inspectors last year at two locations and the extent of Iran’s progress in developing a more advanced centrifuge for enriching uranium.

A senior diplomat familiar with the inspection process said this week that the IAEA is particularly intent on discovering the source of the weapons-grade uranium, which was enriched far beyond the level required for operating a nuclear reactor.

Iran maintains that the traces were on contaminated equipment purchased on the black market. IAEA scientists suspect that some of the traces may have come from equipment purchased from Pakistan, but another, weaker batch appears to have come from a Soviet-style nuclear reactor.