14/11/2003
Iran To Sign UN Additional Protocol

Iran acceded this week to demands by the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency to sign an additional protocol allowing enhanced, unannounced and on-the-spot inspections and to suspend all uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities following concerns over its possible development of nuclear weapons.

"This is a welcome and positive development," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei said in Vienna after Iranian Ambassador Ali Akbar Salehi delivered a letter conveying his government's acceptance of the Additional Protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Mr. Salehi also informed Mr. ElBaradei that Iran had decided, , to suspend all uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities in Iran - specifically, to suspend all activities on the site of Natanz, not to produce feed material for enrichment processes and not to import enrichment-related items.

The IAEA intends to verify, in the context of the Safeguards Agreement and the Additional Protocol, the implementation by Iran of these decisions, the Agency said in a news release.

The IAEA first raised concerns publicly about Iran's nuclear programme in June when it said the country had failed to report certain nuclear material and activities as required by the NPT, of which it is a signatory. Iran denied it sought to produce nuclear weapons.

At a meeting on 12 September, the IAEA Board of Governors gave Iran a 31 October deadline to provide accelerated cooperation and grant unrestricted access, including environmental sampling, in order to corroborate its renunciation of nuclear weapons and its compliance with the NPT. It adopted a resolution calling on Tehran to sign, ratify and fully implement the additional protocol promptly and unconditionally, and as a confidence building measure to act henceforth in accordance with the protocol.

The Board also called on Iran to suspend all further uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities, pending provision by the Director-General of the assurances required by Member States and pending satisfactory application of the provisions of the Additional Protocol.

On 23 October Iran sent Mr. ElBaradei a dossier on its nuclear activities and on 31 October he said the verification work was making good progress.