New IAEA chief: No sign Iran seeks nuclear arms
Incoming head of UN's nuclear watchdog Yukiya Amano says no evidence in agency's documents to support claim Iran is trying to gain ability to develop nuclear weapons
The incoming head of the UN's nuclear watchdog said on Friday he did not see any hard evidence that Iran was trying to gain the ability to develop nuclear weapons.
"I don't see any evidence in IAEA official documents about this," Yukiya Amano told Reuters in his first direct comment on Iran's nuclear program since his election, when asked whether
he believed Iran was seeking a nuclear weapons capability.
Current IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei told the BBC last month it was his "gut feeling" that Iran was seeking the ability to produce nuclear arms, if it desired, as an "insurance policy"
against perceived threats from neighboring countries or the United States.
"I'm not going to be a "soft" director general or a "tough" director general," Amano told Reuters, when asked how he would approach issues like Iran and Syria, which are both subject to IAEA probes.
Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano was elected director-general the United Nations nuclear watchdog on Thursday.
Looming challenges in the politically sensitive post include Iran's nuclear program, blocked investigations into alleged military nuclear activities in Iran and Syria, and North Korean nuclear tests.
