UN nuclear watchdog says Iran threat 'hyped'

[September 02, 2009]  VIENNA (AP) -- The global threat posed by Iran's suspect nuclear program is "hyped" because there's no hard proof that Tehran has an ongoing effort to build an atomic weapon, the head of the U.N. nuclear agency asserts in a magazine interview.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, published by a group of prominent scientists, quotes International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei as saying there is still cause for concern -- just not panic.

"We have not seen concrete evidence that Tehran has an ongoing nuclear weapons program," the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize laureate was quoted as saying for the Bulletin's September/October issue.

"But somehow, many people are talking about how Iran's nuclear program is the greatest threat to the world," added ElBaradei, whose Vienna-based agency long has played a key role itself in raising international concern about Iran's intentions.

"In many ways, I think the threat has been hyped. Yes, there's concern about Iran's future intentions and Iran needs to be more transparent with the IAEA and the international community ... But the idea that we'll wake up tomorrow and Iran will have a nuclear weapon is an idea that isn't supported by the facts as we have seen them so far."

Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and geared solely toward generating electricity. The U.S. and key allies contend it is covertly trying to build a nuclear weapon.

ElBaradei steps down on Nov. 30 after 12 years as head of the IAEA. Western diplomats have criticized him for not taking a harder line on Iran, although as recently as June, he suggested Tehran wants to gain nuclear weapons capability.

ElBaradei's interview with the Bulletin -- best known for its symbolic Doomsday Clock, which tracks the threat of a global cataclysm -- was released ahead of a meeting next week of the IAEA's 35-nation board to review the threat posed by Iran, North Korea, Syria and others.

In his latest report to the U.N. Security Council, which was shown to reporters last week, ElBaradei said Iran is stonewalling the IAEA on "possible military dimensions" to its nuclear program.

ElBaradei acknowledged that Iran has been producing nuclear fuel at a slower rate and has allowed U.N. inspectors broader access to its main nuclear complex in the southern city of Natanz and to a reactor in Arak. But he gave a blunt assessment: "Iran has not suspended its enrichment-related activities."

U.S. President Barack Obama has given Iran something of an ultimatum: Stop enriching uranium -- which, if done at a high level, can produce fissile material for the core of a nuclear weapon -- or face harsher penalties.

In exchange, Tehran could get trade benefits from six countries -- the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- that were engaging in closed-door talks being held Wednesday at an undisclosed location near Frankfurt.

"We still have outstanding questions that are relevant to the nature of Tehran's program, and we still need to verify that there aren't undeclared activities taking place inside of the country," the Bulletin's interview quoted ElBaradei as saying.

ElBaradei said a dialogue sought by Obama to build trust and normalize relations with Iran is "the only way forward." He said talks also were key in dealing with North Korea, which recently conducted two nuclear test blasts.

In the interview, ElBaradei took a swipe at the United States over its 2003 invasion of Iraq, justified by Washington at the time because Saddam Hussein allegedly had stockpiled weapons of mass destruction.

Just before the invasion, ElBaradei had told the Security Council that his experts found no evidence of such weaponry -- and none has surfaced since.

"The United States spent $3 trillion to come to the same conclusion we came to before the war for something like $5 million," the Bulletin quoted him as saying.

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On the Net:

IAEA, http://www.iaea.org/

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, http://www.thebulletin.org/index.htm

[Associated Press; By WILLIAM J. KOLE]

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