Nuclear watchdog urges Iran
IAEA chief Mohamed El-Baradei addresses the U.N. General Assembly, urges Iran to respond to his nuclear fuel proposal.
Script:
Pressure is growing for Iran to respond to the U.N.'s nuclear
fuel plan.
Addressing the U.N. General Assembly on Monday, IAEA chief
Mohamed El-Baradei urged Tehran to accept the U.N. brokered
proposal, which would see Iran's nuclear fuel enriched abroad by
France and Russia.
SOUNDBITE: Mohamed El-Baradei, IAEA chief, saying (English):
"I therefore urge Iran to be as forthcoming as possible in
responding soon to my recent proposal based on the initiative of
the United States, Russia and France, which aimed to engage Iran in
a series of measures that could build confidence and trust."
Iran rejects Western allegations it's secretly developing
nuclear weapons, and has ignored demands by the U.N. Security
Council to suspend enrichment, saying its program aims to generate
electricity.
Iran's Ambassador to the U.N. Mohammed Khazee didn't mention the
fuel proposal in his speech to the general assembly, but he did
take aim at Israel's long-presumed nuclear weapons program.
SOUNDBITE: Mohammed Khazee, Iran's Ambassador to the U.N.,
saying (English)
"The clandestine nuclear weapons program of this regime which is
carried out in its unsafe, guarded secret facilities is the most
serious threat to the regional as well as international peace and
security."
The address was El-Baradei's last as director-general of the
IAEA, who's due to step down after 12 years.
El-Baradei told the assembly he would always lament the war in
Iraq, which he said was based on incorrect claims that Baghdad had
revived its nuclear weapons program.
The outgoing chief says the use of force should always be a last
resort.
SOUNDBITE: Mohamed ElBaradei, IAEA chief, saying (English):
"Force should never be used unless every other option has been
exhausted... all of these lessons are applicable today in the case
of Iran."
The U.S. and Israel have not ruled out using force to deal with
Iran's nuclear program.
Gemma Haines, Reuters.