Iran has handed over to the UN nuclear watchdog a document containing design information that could help make nuclear weapon parts, diplomats said on yesterday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been demanding that Iran hand over the document, which envoys said is a long way from being a blueprint for a nuclear weapon, for the past two years.
The document contains information about the machining and casting of uranium metal into spheres for nuclear warheads.
Iran is likely to portray the gesture as an important sign that it is cooperating fully with the IAEA in resolving questions about suspicious and secretive nuclear activities that date back two decades.
Iran argues that because of this cooperation on its past activities, it should not be punished with new sanctions for its ongoing programs, even though it is violating UN Security Council resolutions by continuing to produce enriched uranium.
IAEA officials had been permitted to see the document, but until now, Tehran has refused to let them have a copy.
So the fact that Iran had finally decided to hand it over was not, in itself, significant, one diplomat said, on condition of anonymity.
"It's like getting a ticket for speeding and then refusing to pay for the next two years. What's much more important is how and why they got hold of this document in the first place," the diplomat said.
Iran has always insisted that its atomic drive is purely to generate electricity for a growing population.
The Iranians did not disclose why they had possession of the document and what they intended to do with the information, said European officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity under normal diplomatic rules.
Iran was given the engineering drawings that could have helped it cast uranium into the precise shapes needed to build the core of a nuclear weapon as part of a larger black market offer in 1987, previous agency reports said.
The information, which was offered by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program and the head of what was the world's largest nuclear black market, came into Iran's hands as the country was covertly buying nuclear equipment for its program to enrich uranium.
Iran has told agency officials that it never asked for the data.
Some envoys see Iran's move, just days before the IAEA is scheduled to release its eagerly awaited report on Iran's disputed nuclear activities, as a bid to stave off more UN sanctions.
IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei is currently putting the finishing touches to his report, which sources said could be released either late yesterday or today.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was