IAEA's Iran probe moves into final stage: diplomat by Mark Heinrich

IAEA's Iran probe moves into final stage: diplomat

By Mark Heinrich

VIENNA (Reuters) - A U.N. inquiry into Iran's nuclear activity has entered its final phase with Tehran addressing U.S. intelligence about secret, past efforts to "weaponize" atomic material, a diplomat close to the process said on Tuesday.

The development coincides with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei's decision to pay a rare visit to Tehran on Friday and Saturday for talks with Iranian leaders to speed efforts to clarify Iran's past and present nuclear work.

Tehran denies its program to generate electricity from enriching uranium is a facade for bomb-making. It long refused even to discuss intelligence obtained by U.N. inspectors pointing to military diversions, rejecting it as propaganda.

Therefore IAEA officials see Tehran's new readiness to examine and respond to the information as a potentially important step to rebuild confidence in its nuclear intentions.

Ahead of ElBaradei, IAEA officials flew into Tehran late on Monday to resume talks aimed at resolving lingering questions about the program. Iran hid it from the IAEA until 2003 and stonewalled inquiries until agreeing last August to come clean.

After broadly clarifying how work began with materials obtained from nuclear smugglers, Iran has begun substantive talks with IAEA officials on the intelligence about attempts to militarize the program, the diplomat said.

"The work plan (transparency process) is now looking at 'weaponization', so it's now in its final phase, or chapter, and this is very significant."

The issue involves alleged administrative and research links between processing of uranium ore, testing high explosives and designing a missile warhead. Iran has denied any such links.

The diplomat denied accounts from some Western sources in Vienna two weeks ago that Iran was apparently balking at dealing with the last, most sensitive issues in the investigation.

The reports surfaced as some U.S.-led Western powers were renewing a case for harsher U.N. sanctions against Iran, and as ElBaradei's mooted time frame for completing the inquiry by the end of 2007 passed with issues still outstanding.

They also followed a U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on December 3 that said Iran had shelved a covert nuclear arms drive in 2003. This undercut the White House stance that Tehran was actively seeking a bomb and a U.S. push for tough sanctions.

Western diplomats said the NIE could undo Iran's motivation to come clean to the IAEA, although Washington said Iran could resume efforts to build a bomb since it curbs U.N. inspections.

The diplomat close to the IAEA said senior agency officials had not noticed such an NIE effect on Iran.

"Reports of Iran posing new obstacles are not true. ElBaradei mentioned the end of 2007 timeline to help put pressure on Iran but he never thought everything would be resolved by then," the diplomat said.

Western diplomats remained skeptical of Iran's readiness to open up entirely if, they said, this risked self-incrimination.

"On weaponization, it may be too optimistic. The main shift in Iran's stance could be from, 'It's all fabrications,' to, 'We will look at the documents.' Providing answers and explanations will be another step," one Western diplomat told Reuters.

ElBaradei now hopes to wrap up the inquiry by the next session of the IAEA's 35-nation governing board in March. But resolving past issues would not put Iran in the clear.

Tehran has done little to satisfy international demands for transparency about the scope of its current program, by ending curbs on inspector movements meant to verify there is no more covert activity. ElBaradei was to press this point in Tehran.

(Editing by Dominic Evans)

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