U.N. nuclear agency to push Iran on military site access

(Reuters) – The United Nations nuclear watchdog signaled

on Monday it would press Iran for access to a military installation where it

suspects Iran has built a chamber for high-explosive tests that could serve to develop atomic

bombs.

The Vienna talks will test Iran’s readiness to address U.N. inspectors’

suspicions of military dimensions to its nuclear program, ahead of broader-ranging talks on the

program’s future in Baghdad next week between Tehran and six world powers.

Iran, which rejects

Western accusations it seeks nuclear arms, has so far resisted requests by the International Atomic

Energy Agency to visit the extensive Parchin complex southeast of Tehran. The issue was expected to be

raised during a high-level May 14-15 meeting in Vienna between Iran and the IAEA.

“It is

important now … that Iran let us have access to people, documents, information and sites,” IAEA

Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts told reporters as he arrived for the talks at an Iranian

diplomatic mission in Austria’s capital.

His team of senior IAEA officials and experts left the

building after about five hours, declining any comment to media waiting outside. The meeting will

resume on Tuesday.

Iranian state television said: “The first round of talks has been evaluated

as positive.” It did not elaborate.

An IAEA report last November found that Iran had built a

large containment vessel in 2000 at the Parchin site in which to conduct tests that the U.N. agency

said were “strong indicators of possible (nuclear) weapon development”.

It said a building was

constructed “around a large cylindrical object”. An earth berm between the building containing the

cylinder and a neighboring building indicated the probable use of high explosives in the

chamber.

The IAEA said it had obtained satellite images that were consistent with this

information. The vessel was designed to contain the detonation of up to 70 kg of high

explosives.

Israel – widely believed to hold the Middle East’s only nuclear arsenal – and the

United States have not ruled out military action to prevent Iran from obtaining atomic bombs if

negotiations fail to achieve this goal peacefully.

Western diplomats say they suspect Iran is

now cleaning the Parchin site to remove incriminating evidence. A U.S. security institute said last

week that satellite imagery showed activity there which it said raised concern that Iran may be

“washing” the building the IAEA wants to see.

A Western diplomat told Reuters he had seen other

images also suggesting a clean-up operation at Parchin, including a stream of water apparently coming

from the building.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has dismissed the allegations, saying

nuclear activities cannot be washed away.

DIPLOMACY REVIVED

But the Institute for Science

and International Security (ISIS), the Washington-based think-tank which published the satellite image

last week, said this was incorrect.

“The concern is that washing could be incorporated into an

effort to cleanse the building. The process could involve grinding down the surfaces inside the

building, collecting the dust and then washing the area thoroughly. This could be followed with new

building materials and paint,” it said.

A senior Iranian lawmaker, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, did not

rule out a possible IAEA visit to Parchin. “Naturally, agreements are always reached behind the

negotiating table and parliament will respect any agreement reached by Iranian representatives,” he

told ISNA news agency when asked about the U.N. body’s request.

Nackaerts, head of the IAEA’s

nuclear inspections worldwide, said Tehran must now engage on substance with the agency in its nuclear

investigation, after years of stonewalling.

Two previous rounds of talks in Tehran this year

with U.N. inspectors failed to make any notable progress, especially on their request to go to

Parchin.

“The aim … is to reach agreement on an approach to resolve all outstanding issues

with Iran,” Nackaerts said. “In particular, clarification of the possible military dimensions remains

our priority.”

Nackaerts did not name any sites, but IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said

earlier this month that gaining access to Parchin would be the priority for the IAEA in the

talks.

“Some IAEA officials see Tehran’s refusal of access as a challenge to the IAEA’s

primacy in setting the agenda for inspections, and for that reason the IAEA will continue to request

access to that site as a matter of principle,” said Mark Hibbs of the Carnegie Endowment for

International Peace.

Western diplomats will be watching the discussions for any sign that Iran

is now ready to make concrete concessions, saying this would send a positive message ahead of the

Baghdad talks.

Iran and the powers involved in nuclear diplomacy – the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France

and Germany – revived negotiations in Istanbul last month after a 15-month hiatus and both sides say

they hope for progress in Baghdad.

The resumption of diplomacy offers a chance to defuse tension

that has led the United States and the European Union to try to block Iran’s oil exports through

sanctions, and increased worries about a new Middle East war.

UK WARNS ON SANCTIONS

The

West suspects Iran is seeking to develop the capability to make nuclear bombs, although intelligence

officials believe Tehran has not made a decision whether to actually build them.

The Islamic

Republic, one of the world’s largest oil producers, says its atomic program is a peaceful quest to

generate more electricity for a rapidly growing population.

Iran “will not retreat even one iota

from its fundamental rights,” Iranian media quoted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying, showing

traditional defiance in the face of Western demands on Iran to curb the nuclear program.

British

Foreign Secretary William Hague said the European Union wanted to see “concrete steps and proposals”

from Iran.

“Without that, of course we have sanctions we have imposed. They will not only be

enforced but, over time, intensified,” he told reporters before a meeting of EU foreign

ministers.

Iran has suggested that a broader agreement with the IAEA – which regularly monitors

Iran’s declared nuclear sites – on how to address outstanding questions should be reached before it

would consider letting inspectors into Parchin.

Western diplomats see this as a stalling tactic

and do not expect Iran suddenly to allow access to Parchin.

A Western priority is for Iran to

halt the higher-grade uranium enrichment work it started two years ago and has since expanded,

potentially shortening the time needed to build a bomb. Iran wants the Baghdad meeting to yield a deal

on an easing of sanctions, something the West will be reluctant to consider before seeing substantive

concessions.

Refined uranium can be used to fuel nuclear power plants, which are Iran’s stated

goal, or provide material for bombs if processed further, which the West suspects is the country’s

ultimate intention.

(Additional reporting by Zahra Hosseinian; Editing by Mark

Heinrich)