IAEA chief urges Iran to walk extra mile in cooperation
9/3/2006 14:25
UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei yesterday asked Iran to walk
the extra mile in cooperation with his agency in a bid to solve the contentious
nuclear issue.
"There is complete agreement (in discussions) that Iran needs
to go the extra mile and work with us," ElBaradei told reporters shortly after
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board concluded discussions over
Iran's nuclear issue.
"Nobody would be happier than I when we are able to
conclude that all outstanding issues in Iran's nuclear program have been
clarified."
It is in the interest of Iran for the IAEA to clear all
outstanding issues, he said. The clarification of these issues will in turn have
positive impacts on confidence-building measures.
He said there were
divisions in the board discussions, but there were "common threads" throughout
the process.
The common threads, he said, were calls for increasing
transparency of Iran's nuclear activities, for more confidence- building measure
from Iran and common wish for a political settlement of the issue.
"We need
to put our heads together. Everybody would benefit from a political settlement
of the Iranian issue. It would be positive implication on an already volatile
area which is the Middle East."
He said his report on Iran would be conveyed
to the UN Security Council on Wednesday or Thursday. Then it is up to the
Security Council to decide whether or when to discuss the issue, or what action,
if any, to take.
He emphasized that there is only one solution: a
comprehensive political settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue.
"The primary
responsibility of the Security Council is the peaceful settlement of this
dispute," he said.
He noted that people who talked about the involvement of
the Security Council emphasized that this is just a new phase of diplomacy, not
the end of it.
He said he was looking forward to support from the Security
Council down the diplomatic road.
He said a settlement must both ensure
Iran's right to the use of nuclear energy and international confidence that
Iran's nuclear program is exclusive for peaceful purposes.
The 35-member IAEA
board was divided over the involvement of the Security Council, with the United
States and the EU3 -- Britain, France and Germany -- insisting that the UN
Security Council should now take up the issue.
Other countries, especially
those of the Non-Aligned Movement, argued that the issue should be kept within
the framework of the IAEA.
Xinhua
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