By DPA
Vienna : The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed ElBaradei Monday hailed an agreement struck with Iran as an important step toward resolving the deadlock over the country’s controversial nuclear programme.
The IAEA Board of Governors began its regular autumn meeting Monday.
In his statement to the UN nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation board, ElBaradei said outstanding verification issues could be resolved within two or three months if Iran implemented the negotiated work plan “fully and in a timely manner.”
The IAEA head expressed “regret” that Iran continued to ignore Security Council resolutions calling for a suspension of enrichment-related activities.
The work plan negotiated between Iran and the IAEA, in which Iran has promised to resolve outstanding issues in a step-by-step approach, was met with scepticism from several board members.
Germany’s Abassador Peter Gottwald said even if past issues were resolved, questions about the present and future remained. He hoped cooperation was as forthcoming as promised. “The proof of the pudding is in its eating,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting.
US Ambassador Gregory Schulte welcomed the work plan as a “potentially important process” if Iran cooperated fully, but at the same time expressed reservations over Iran’s intentions.
Vienna-based diplomats feared that the criticism could lead to a split among members. The work plan represented “some light at the end of the tunnel,” one diplomat said.
The IAEA board members will not officially pass judgment on the work timetable, although it will be discussed extensively in the closed-door meeting.
ElBaradei repeated his call for a “double time-out” of all enrichment-related activities in Iran, and UN Security Council sanctions as “breathing space” for the resumption of negotiations.
Iran Sunday stressed it would continue its controversial enrichment push, even in the face of new UN sanctions.