A senior Iranian nuclear official said Thursday that a new report from the International Atomic Energy Agency carried no negative findings about the country's atomic program, and pledged that enrichment activities would continue for research purposes under IAEA oversight.
Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's atomic energy organization, described the report as factual, noting it confirmed that the program remains under international supervision and shows no indication of a weapons-related purpose. A senior official close to the IAEA separately stated that inspectors had found no concrete evidence of a military dimension to Iran's nuclear activities.
The IAEA's report to the UN Security Council confirmed that Iran had continued enriching uranium past a UN deadline set for Thursday, potentially exposing the country to sanctions. The report noted that a 164-machine cascade at the Natanz pilot facility had been fed small quantities of uranium hexafluoride gas during June, July, and August.
Saeedi said new IAEA cameras had been installed at the Natanz enrichment plant and indicated that outstanding questions about the program should be resolved through cooperation with the agency.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in August 2006, in its own words.