Iran has handed over to the UN nuclear watchdog a document containing design information that could help to make nuclear weapon parts, diplomats said on Wednesday.
But diplomats said it was unclear whether the gesture-coming just days ahead of the publication of crucial IAEA report-really was a sign of goodwill on the part of Tehran or a last-minute attempt to stave off further possible UN sanctions.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been demanding that Iran hand over the document, which diplomats said is a long way from being an actual 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.
IAEA officials had previously 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, while the United States accuses it of seeking to develop a nuclear bomb.