A key meeting of the UN atomic agency moved closer to agreement on Iran after the US and key European powers agreed to praise Tehran's increased openness about its nuclear programs but criticize it for continuing to hide some suspicious activities.
With the US-European rift ended, the way was free for debate and approval of an Iran resolution by all 35 nations of the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors.
In the draft, US compromised with Britain, France and Germany to tone down criticism of Iran's continued nuclear secrecy and give some praise of Tehran's willingness to open its programs to outside perusal.
The draft, agreed on Tuesday, was the result of days of intensive negotiations on acceptable wording.
The US insists Iran wants to make nuclear weapons and wanted the meeting to condemn it for not fully living up to pledges to reveal all past and present nuclear activities. But the Europeans wanted to focus on Iranian cooperation with the IAEA that began only after the discovery last year that Tehran had plans to enrich uranium and secretly conducted other tests with possible weapons applications over nearly two decades.
When the issue first came up before the board last year, the US pushed to have Tehran dragged before the UN Security Council for possible sanctions, arguing that Iran had violated the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
The drafted text, made available to The Associated Press, made no direct mention of the Security Council, but noted "with the most serious concern" that past declarations made by Iran "did not amount to the correct, complete and final picture of Iran's past and present nuclear program."
It criticized Iran for "failing to resolve all questions" about uranium enrichment, which can be used to make weapons, saying it "deplores" this lapse.
Still, it praised Iran for signing an agreement throwing open its nuclear programs to full and pervasive IAEA perusal and Iran's cooperation with agency investigations.
The rift over Iran had led to unusual strains between Washington and its key European allies.
Besides Iran, Libya is also on the IAEA's agenda, with IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei saying both nations violated the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
But with Libya scrapping its programs for weapons of mass destruction, the focus at the IAEA key meeting was on Iran.
In the draft of the resolution on Libya, which also was provided to the AP, the nuclear agency "expresses deep satisfaction" with Tripoli's openness, "welcomes the active cooperation" exhibited by Libya, and "congratulates" it for accepting full and intrusive inspections.
In an IAEA report last month, Tehran was accused of continuing to hide evidence of nuclear experiments and mentioned finds of traces of polonium, a radioactive element that can be used in nuclear weapons and expressed concerns with the discovery of a previously undisclosed advanced P-2 uranium centrifuge system.
Iran has insisted its interest in uranium enrichment related to peaceful programs like generating power.
While praising Tehran for some cooperation, El Baradei said he was "seriously concerned" about Iran's refusal to declare plans and parts for the P-2 enrichment system, calling it a "setback to Iran's stated policy of transparency."
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, in comments carried by the official Islamic Republic News Agency, said in Tehran that the IAEA will ultimately come to agree with Iran's assertion that all its nuclear activities are "for peaceful purposes."
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