A source with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told RIA Novosti that the agency's 35-nation board of governors would hold sessions for five days, discussing how to enhance international cooperation in nuclear security, reforms within the agency and other issues.
Iran's "nuclear file" remains on top of the agenda and will be discussed during a session on Wednesday, he said. The IAEA could decide to refer the Iranian nuclear program to the UN Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions if Tehran is found to be in breach of its international commitments.
The Unites States could issue an ultimatum to Iran, setting a 30- to 60-day deadline for the country either to cooperate fully with the IAEA or face UN sanctions, the source said. Senior officials in Washington, including the defense secretary and the President George Bush himself, have refused to rule out military action against the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities, saying that all options remain on the table.
The source added that the recent negotiations between Iran and the European trio (France, Germany and the U.K.) had not led to any positive developments on the issue and the final decision would be taken by the IAEA's ruling body.
An emergency session of the IAEA board in early February showed that its approach to Iran's position on uranium enrichment and a full nuclear cycle had become noticeably tougher. The board approved a resolution binding Director General Mohamed ElBaradei to inform the UN Security Council about Iran's nuclear program and position on cooperation, and about the IAEA's actions on the issue, but said Iran still had a chance to stop its nuclear research before the final decision had been made.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week that all the issues surrounding Iran's nuclear problem could not be resolved without the UN nuclear watchdog and called for a decision that would leave the conditions of their work in Iran unaffected. Russia has proposed enriching Iranian uranium on its own soil, in what is widely seen as a compromise to the current stand-off. But Tehran seemed to have scuppered the idea last week by saying it would enrich small volumes of the radioactive metal regardless of whether the deal went through or not.
"There are always options for reaching agreement," Lavrov said. "If all sides observe all the conditions - if Iran re-imposes its moratorium on uranium enrichment ... and there is constructive dialogue on creating a joint venture on Russian soil to meet Iran's nuclear fuel needs for atomic energy - and if they are supported by all sides, then the result will be positive."
Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said earlier that Iran would allow international weapons inspectors' access to its facilities if Tehran were given the right to develop peaceful nuclear energy.
"If the IAEA and some leading states guarantee Iran's inalienable right to pursue peaceful nuclear programs, there will be no obstacles to IAEA inspections," Larijani told a news conference in Moscow, adding that UN inspections and Iran's rights had to be discussed as one issue. Otherwise, he said, international weapons inspectors would only be allowed to make fewer checks, and the region would be destabilized.
Larijani accused the U.S. of attempting to block Russia's joint venture initiative, and said the U.S. push to refer Iran to the UN Security Council was stalling the venture. He added that the U.S. policy could jeopardize the Russian proposal and warned that the initiative would be the first to be dropped if Iran were reported to the UN Security Council.
The mooted deal with Russia on uranium enrichment, which could also involve China, is seen as a potential compromise in the crisis around the nuclear programs of the Islamic Republic, which some countries suspect of pursuing a covert weapons program. Although Tehran has consistently said it only wants nuclear power for peaceful purposes, the United States and other nations have concerns, as enriched uranium is a vital component for an atomic bomb.
Iran's nuclear ambitions have been the subject of particular attention since hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected president last year. His call for Israel to be "wiped from the face of the map" was roundly condemned. It also raised the specter of military action. Iran's three main research facilities are located in Natanz, 1,700km (1,000 miles) from the Israeli border.
Israel destroyed a nuclear facility in Iraq in connection with similar fears in an air strike in 1981.
Although U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice condemned Tehran's "dangerous defiance of the entire international community" in mid-January, she said Washington had no plans "at this point" for any military intervention. However, other officials have taken a harder line.
