Iran "Tricked and Misled" IAEA, Former Official Says

[bananas]

http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20111007_1664.php

Iran "Tricked and Misled" IAEA, Former Official Says
Friday, Oct. 7, 2011

A former high-level International Atomic Energy Agency official expressed regret in an interview published on Thursday that the organization did not more aggressively pursue suspicions over Iran's nuclear intentions during his tenure (see GSN, Oct. 6).

"When I think about the nuclear activities of certain states, for instance Iran's nuclear program, I have to say that we allowed ourselves to be placated too often. We should have done more than carrying out our inspections. Yes, with hindsight you could perhaps even say we failed," former IAEA safeguards chief Olli Heinonen told Der Spiegel.

<snip>

"Tehran has announced that it intends to build 10 more enrichment plants, and Iranian experts have conducted experiments with neutron sources and highly explosive detonators that would only make sense for military applications. They're also making progress at the heavy-water reactor in Arak, so much so, that by 2014 they'll have enough plutonium to build an atom bomb," he said.

"I am ... convinced that Tehran will reach the 'breakout capability' -- in order words, the capacity to produce weapons-grade uranium -- as early as next year," he added. "In that sense Iran aims to be a virtual nuclear power with the capability of producing the ultimate weapons at any time."

<snip>

[kristopher]

1. Any person or agency serves two masters poorly

From OP: "We should have done more than carrying out our inspections."

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
ARTICLE I: Establishment of the Agency
...establish an International Atomic Energy Agency ... upon the terms and conditions ... set forth.

ARTICLE II: Objectives
The Agency shall seek to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy ... throughout the world. ...

ARTICLE III: Functions
A. The Agency is authorized:
1. To encourage... development and practical application of, atomic energy ...throughout the world; and...to act as an intermediary for the purposes of securing the performance of services or the supplying of materials, equipment, or facilities by one member of the Agency for another;
and to perform any operation or service useful in research on, or development or practical application of, atomic energy for peaceful purposes;
2. To make provision... for materials, services, equipment, and facilities to meet the needs of ... development and practical application of, atomic energy ...including the production of electric power...

[Hydra]

2. Do I smell an Iran war buildup coming again?

...Guess I'll have to play the doom clock again if so...

[kristopher]

3. "IAEA official regret(s) that the organization did not more aggressively pursue suspicions"

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s workshop for public information on new nuclear power plants kicked off in Seoul on Monday.

The five-day event organized by the Korea Nuclear Energy Promotion Agency in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency is aimed at sharing information among communication professionals in the nuclear power industry and to seek ways to improve public awareness of nuclear power. In addition, the Korea Nuclear Energy Promotion Agency hopes to lay the foundations for facilitating Korea’s involvement in overseas nuclear power plant construction projects in the future. In December 2009, Korea became the world’s fifth country to export nuclear power technology when a consortium led by Korea Electric Power Corp. was selected to carry out a $40 billion nuclear power project in the United Arab Emirates.

“The IAEA International Workshop started from the recognition that the major obstacle facing the government would be the issue of the public acceptance in the process of the nuclear energy policy implementation,” said Korea Nuclear Energy Promotion Agency Chairman Rhee Jae-hwan.

Rhee added that while public fear of nuclear power is growing, fueled by the developments at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, environmentalists are magnifying that fear by “neglecting the efficiency of the nuclear energy and exaggerating the danger and the negative side....

http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20111010000655

The IAEA - nothing but a sales tool used by the nuclear industry to hide corporate greed behind a patina of science.