AP: IAEA May Scale Back Saudi Monitoring - SF Chron

[Coastie for Truth]

AP: IAEA May Scale Back Saudi Monitoring
- By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, May 31, 2005

(05-31) 08:39 PDT VIENNA, Austria (AP) --

The U.N. atomic agency is reluctantly asking key member nations to approve a request from Saudi Arabia that would effectively tie the agency's hands on independently policing Riyadh's nuclear status, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press.

The plan is meant to give the International Atomic Energy Agency its first-ever overview of Saudi Arabia but could have a negative effect. If approved as expected, it will serve as a formal vehicle to keep outside monitoring of Saudi Arabia to a minimum.

The document, on IAEA letterhead and provided recently by a diplomat accredited to the agency and familiar with the deal, asks board members to "conclude ... and subsequently implement" the arrangement. The document says any policing of Saudi activities would be held to "a minimum."

The deal would mean that the Saudis would inform the agency of their nuclear status but the Vienna-based IAEA — the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency — would not be automatically authorized to challenge or verify their statements.

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