Iran berates UN nuke chief

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Jan. 15 – Iranian officials reacted sharply to an interview conducted by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei, which will be published in this week’s edition of Newsweek magazine. Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Jan. 15 – Iranian officials reacted sharply to an interview conducted by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei, which will be published in this week’s edition of Newsweek magazine.

ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that he was very frustrated with Tehran over its lack of cooperation with international inspectors. The West believes that Tehran is pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program under the cover of nuclear energy development.

Allaedin Boroujerdi, who chairs the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told the state-run ISNA news agency on Sunday that ElBaradei’s comments were a “diversion” from the “legal path” of the IAEA.

“Taking such a position weakens the IAEA as a scientific and technical organisation and brings its neutrality under question”, Boroujerdi said.

“The language that ElBaradei has used in this interview is not in line with what his jurisdiction allows”, he added.

“We expect the International Atomic Energy Agency, as an experienced organisation, to make its positions in the framework of its scientific and technical obligations and announce its positions without taking sides and free of any direction or specific political commentary”.

The senior Majlis deputy said that ElBaradei should have commended Iran for “widespread cooperation” with inspections of its nuclear facilities.

ElBaradei told Newsweek that if the Iranians “have the nuclear material and they have a parallel weaponisation program along the way, they are really not very far—a few months—from a weapon”.