Iran is still resisting efforts to find out whether it is hiding nuclear material and research, the head of the UN atomic watchdog said Monday. Intensified efforts to persuade Iran to give more information on its nuclear activities had produced "no concrete results," said International Atomic Energy Agency director general Yukiya Amano in a report to the UN General Assembly.
Amano also called on North Korea to "cooperate promptly and fully" with the agency's efforts to investigate its uranium enrichment activities. Iran's nuclear drive is a growing international concern as Israel has given mounting indications that it is ready to stage a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. US President Barack Obama has said he will not let Iran get a nuclear bomb.
The IAEA chief said his experts were still trying to check "credible information" that Iran has made moves to develop a nuclear bomb. "I requested Iran to clarify these issues," Amano said in the report which was released as a statement as Amano was unable to get to New York because of the major storm that hit the city. "Dialogue has been intensified between the IAEA and Iran this year. However, no concrete results have been achieved so far." The UN Security Council has passed four rounds of nuclear sanctions against Iran and the IAEA's board of governors passed a resolution in September again calling on Iran to prove its program has no military dimension.
"The agency is firmly committed to intensifying dialogue with Iran," Amano said. "We will continue negotiations with Iran on a structured approach. I hope we can reach agreement without further delay." Amano said he remains "deeply concerned" about North Korea which has staged two nuclear tests in the past eight years. "Its statements about uranium enrichment activities and the construction of a light water reactor are deeply troubling," Amano said. IAEA experts were expelled from North Korea in April 2009 and the isolated country also faces UN sanctions.