ElBaradei: Iran not cooperating
Photo: AP
IAEA: Iran hasn't added centrifuges
ElBaradei says he believes Iran has political motive for not adding uranium-enriching centrifuges
Iran "hasn't really" added any further centrifuges to refine enriched uranium, which is required for use in nuclear reactors or weapons, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei said on Tuesday.
ElBaradei said he thought the reason for this was political.
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The IAEA said in its latest report in November that Iran had not boosted the number of centrifuges regularly refining uranium since reaching a level of 3,800 in September.
"They haven't really been adding centrifuges, which is a good thing," ElBaradei told reporters. "Our assessment is that it's a political decision."
However, he added, the Islamic Republic was still not cooperating with efforts to resolve outstanding questions regarding its nuclear program.
ElBaradei repeated that Iran was meeting its obligations to allow inspectors into nuclear sites, but the lack of cooperation regarded questions on past activities.
"Iran right now is not providing any access or any clarification with regard to those studies or the whole possible military dimension," ElBaradei said in Paris at a media event.
"No, I'm not obviously happy with the degree of cooperation. They shut off any cooperation with the agency over the past few months," he said.
Iran has been pressing ahead with expanding its ability to enrich uranium which can be used to fuel power plants, or potentially nuclear weapons despite international efforts to halt its nuclear program.
