Iran not answering questions on its nuclear program: IAEA

By Ahmet Gencturk

ANKARA (AA) - Iran is not being cooperative in responding to requests for information on aspects of its nuclear program, which is seriously affecting the ability to confirm its peaceful nature, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Monday.

In his opening statement at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Rafael Mariano noted the lack of progress in clarifying the IAEA’s questions on the accuracy and completeness of Iran’s safeguards declarations.

“Iran has provided no new information in relation to one location, has not answered any of the agency’s questions nor provided any information in relation to two other locations, and provided a written statement on a fourth location without any substantiating documentation,” he said.

He underscored that verification and monitoring activities in the country were affected as a result of Iran’s decision to stop the implementation of its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the Additional Protocol, which gives broader access to IAEA inspectors throughout a country.

Referring to the issue of undeclared nuclear sites in Iran, Mariano said: “The presence of multiple uranium particles of anthropogenic origin at three locations in Iran not declared to the agency as well as the presence of isotopically altered particles at one of these locations is a clear indication that nuclear material and/or equipment contaminated by nuclear material has been present at these locations.”

Iran needs to clarify and resolve these issues without further delay by providing information, documentation and answers to the agency’s questions, he reiterated.