VIENNA – The UN nuclear agency insisted Tuesday that Iran must address concerns about suspected bomb research, saying it was ready for talks and avoiding any mention of Tehran's allegation that “terrorists” may have infiltrated the Vienna-based agency. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a statement on a meeting between IAEA chief Yukiya Amano and Iranian nuclear energy head Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani Monday, which was held just hours after Abbasi-Davani sharply criticised the agency in a speech to its annual assembly. Amano said it was essential for Iran to cooperate with his inspectors to clarify concerns about possible military dimensions to its nuclear program, a charge Tehran rejects. He told Abbasi-Davani that the IAEA “is committed to continued dialogue with Iran and expressed the readiness of agency negotiators to meet with Iran's in the near future”, the statement said. The UN agency has been seeking to resume a long-stalled investigation into Iran's atomic activities, but talks that began in January have made little headway. In a sign of the depth of mistrust between Iran and the IAEA, Abbasi-Davani accused the UN agency of a “cynical approach” and mismanagement in his speech Monday. He said power lines to Iran's Fordow underground enrichment site were blown up a month ago, and that an IAEA inspector had asked for an unannounced visit to the site a day later and that “terrorists and saboteurs might have intruded” into the agency. Abbasi-Davani did not say who he believed was behind the attacks. Iran has often accused Israel and its Western foes of trying to damage its nuclear work. Western diplomats privately dismissed the Iranian allegations against the IAEA as an attempt to divert attention from Tehran's stonewalling of the agency's inquiry. “Iran's accusations against the IAEA are a new low. Increasingly cornered, they are lashing out wildly,” said nuclear proliferation expert Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute for Strategic Studies think-tank. Fordow worries the West most as it produces uranium of 20 percent fissile purity, more than for power plants and only a short technical step from the 90 percent needed for a weapon. – Reuters
