Iran's nuclear negotiator dismisses IAEA report

Описание: (9 Nov 2011)
1. Close-up of Iranian Ambassador to the IAEA Ali Ashgar Soltanieh speaking
2. Mid of Soltanieh talking to reporter
3. Close up of camera monitor with Soltanieh focused on camera and blurred in background
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, Iranian ambassador to the IAEA:
"It is not fair. It is unbalanced, unprofessional and prepared with political motivation and political pressure by the United States, mainly following the visit of Mr. Amano to Washington."
5. Close up of Iranian and UN flags in embassy
6. Mid of Soltanieh giving interview
7. Close up of Soltanieh giving interview
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, Iranian ambassador to the IAEA:
"Over eight years, over 4,000 mandate inspections, over hundreds of short-notice and snapshot visits, they have not found even one gramme of uranium to be diverted to military purposes. Therefore there is no smoking gun. All nuclear activities are exclusively for peaceful purposes. This is the case, and nothing more than peaceful activities in Iran."
9. Wide of exterior of Iranian embassy in Vienna
10. Mid of Iranian Embassy plaque
STORYLINE:
Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spoke to the media on Tuesday, following an IAEA report which revealed for the first time that Iran was suspected of conducting secret experiments for the sole purpose of developing nuclear arms.
Ali Ashgar Soltanieh rejected the accusation and called the UN atomic agency's report biased.
He further accused the IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano of conspiring with the United States in the release of this latest report after his recent visit to Washington, DC.
"It is not fair, it is unbalanced, unprofessional and prepared with political motivation and political pressure by the United States," Soltanieh told reporters in Vienna, where the IAEA is headquartered.
The 13-page annex to the IAEA's regularly scheduled report on Iran included evidence that suggests the Islamic republic is working on the clandestine procurement of equipment and designs to make nuclear arms.
"While some of the activities identified in the annex have civilian as well as military applications, others are specific to nuclear weapons," the report said.
This latest report by the IAEA is the strongest sign yet that Iran seeks to build a nuclear arsenal.
Soltanieh claimed to the contrary.
"Over eight years, over 4,000 mandate inspections, over hundreds of short-notice and snapshot visits, they have not found even one gramme of uranium to be diverted to military purposes," said Soltanieh.
"Therefore there is no smoking gun," he added.
Soltanieh continued to say that all nuclear activities in Iran were exclusively for peaceful purposes, and that Iran would continue to cooperate with the IAEA as it had in the past.
Iran is under UN sanctions for refusing to stop uranium enrichment - which can produce both nuclear fuel and fissile warhead material - and other suspected activities that the international community fears could be used to make atomic arms.
But Iran dismisses such allegations and says its activities are meant to be used only for energy or research.
In Washington, officials said the latest report confirms US suspicions about the military nature of Iran's programme, and the Obama administration was readying a range of sanctions and other measures against Iran should the Islamic republic fail to answer questions raised about its nuclear ambitions.
With the IAEA Middle East Forum due to take place on in Vienna from November 21-22, the latest report has pushed Iran's nuclear issues back into the spotlight.

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