ElBaradei: Inspectors have taken samples
Photo: Reuters
IAEA: Iran's claims unconfirmed
Nuclear watchdog chief Elbaradei says he cannot yet confirm Tehran able to enrich uranium
The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Thursday he could not yet confirm if Iran had enriched uranium to 3.5 percent, the level used to fuel nuclear power stations.
ElBaradei was speaking following talks with top officials in Tehran to discuss the nuclear program after Iran said it had enriched uranium to a low-level and planned industrial-scale production, in defiance of U.N. demands.
"I cannot confirm that. Our inspectors have taken samples. They will report to the (IAEA) board," Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said when asked if he could confirm if Iran had enriched uranium to 3.5 percent, as it had claimed.
Nuke Threat
News Agencies
Shortly before U.N. nuclear watchdog chief's arrival in Tehran early Thursday, Iranian president says his country will not back away from its right to enrich uranium, will ignore renewed international calls to halt sensitive nuclear work
"I look forward to Iran (working) closely with us to resolve the remaining, outstanding issues," ElBaradei said.
'Be angry and die with anger'
After three years of intensive probes, the IAEA has said it still cannot verify that Iran's nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, but they have also found no hard proof of efforts to build atomic bombs.
ElBaradei held talks with Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and Gholamreza Aghazadeh, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization.
Earlier, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country will not back away from its right to enrich uranium and will ignore renewed international calls to halt sensitive nuclear work.
"Our answer to those who are angry about Iran obtaining the full nuclear cycle is one phrase, we say: Be angry and die of this anger," Ahmadinejad said in comments reported by the official IRNA news agency.
