Iran Markedly Slows Atom Enrichment Expansion: IAEA

[Purveyor]

Source: Reuters

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has considerably slowed down the expansion of its contested uranium enrichment program, said a confidential International Atomic Energy Agency report obtained by Reuters on Thursday.

The U.N. watchdog said Iran had increased the number of centrifuges refining uranium, a process that can produce fuel for civilian energy or potentially for atom bombs, by only 164 from 3,800 in November, an insignificant change.

The report also said Iran had refused to let IAEA inspectors conduct a design check at its Arak heavy water reactor project in January and had built a dome over it, preventing satellites from taking images of the facility.

More broadly, the report said Iran was still boycotting IAEA investigators looking into intelligence allegations of past covert atom bomb work by Tehran, with the silent stalemate now more than six months old.

As long as Iran continued to withhold documentation, permission to interview relevant Iranian officials and visits to sites in question, it said, the IAEA would be unable to verify whether Iranian nuclear activity was peaceful or not.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE51I47X20090219?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&rpc=22&sp=true

[Wizard777]

1. The lack of transparency is most unwise. Nothing good will come of this.

But the slow down on enrichment is encouraging. It looks like Iran is entering the Hope game with us. I would hope that Iran has no druj driven alterior motives. But all the hope in the world in useless without some assurances. Which brings us to need for transparency.