By GEORGE JAHN
The Associated Press
Monday, March 3, 2008; 1:14 PM
VIENNA, Austria -- Diplomats say Russia has set conditions on its backing of new U.N. sanctions against Tehran for its nuclear activities.
Two diplomats told The Associated Press on Monday that Moscow wants European nations to drop plans for an resolution critical of Iran at a 35-nation board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency. They said Russia was upset that it was not told earlier about such plans. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Grigory Berdennikov, the chief Russian delegate to the IAEA, told the AP that he was not happy about the planned resolution.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
VIENNA, Austria (AP) _ The chief U.N. nuclear inspector urged Iran on Monday to stop stonewalling his experts and to cooperate over indications Tehran may have tried to make atomic arms under the cover of a civilian nuclear program.
A senior Iranian official said such allegations were "fabricated." But a U.S. envoy repeated Washington's assertions that Tehran tried to make such weapons in the past.
The 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency convened, meanwhile, to focus on Iran's defiance of U.N. Security Council demands to freeze uranium enrichment.
It is also looking at an IAEA report that says Iran has cleared up some questions about its nuclear past but refuses to discuss alleged weapons development activities beyond dismissing them as groundless accusations.
Calling the issue of alleged weapons development "a matter of serious concern," IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei urged Iran "to be as active and cooperative as possible in working with the agency" to put the issue to rest.
"A full-fledged examination of this issue has yet to take place," he said in comments to the board, indirectly denying Iranian suggestions that an IAEA probe of Tehran's past activities has ended positively.
As the board met in Vienna, the U.N. Security Council was expected to agree on a third set of sanctions to punish Iran for ignoring its demand to freeze enrichment, a potential component of a nuclear weapons program.
Two council diplomats said in New York that by Monday morning, Indonesia appeared to be the lone holdout against sanctions. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.
A separate draft resolution was in the works in Vienna. Britain, France and Germany prepared a document focusing on the agency's investigation of Tehran that would be supported by the majority of board members _ including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and the EU.
A senior diplomat said the resolution would be introduced by Wednesday. He said it would praise ElBaradei for his efforts but note the probe's failings on the issue of nuclear weapons and emphasize the board's authority on the issue of Iran's nuclear program.
Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, Iran's chief IAEA representative, dismissed any push for an IAEA resolution critical of his country as "ridiculous."
In comments later Monday, he dismissed intelligence forwarded to the IAEA by the U.S. and its allies on purported weapons programs by Tehran as "forged and fabricated" and driven by "political motivations." And he suggested that for Iran, the issue was closed, saying the IAEA probe "is concluded."
But chief U.S. IAEA delegate Gregory L. Schulte said the report shows that "troubling questions remain about Iranian activities that strongly suggest a clandestine weapons related program." Both he and Soltanieh spoke to reporters.
Iran's nuclear past has been a key topic at IAEA board meetings for the past five years following revelations that the Islamic republic had carried out secret atomic work for nearly two decades, some of it potentially linked to weapons research.
The last IAEA resolution, more than two years ago, referred Tehran's nuclear file to the Security Council.
The council imposed two sets of sanctions to punish Iran for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment and fully open its nuclear activities to agency inspectors.
Iran not only continues enrichment _ which can produce both nuclear fuel and the fissile core of nuclear warheads _ but has expanded its activities, saying it has a right to the technology for a civilian nuclear program. That has led to Monday's planned council vote.
Additionally fueling Western frustrations is Tehran's refusal even to discuss allegations that it tried to make nuclear weapons through linked projects enriching uranium, testing explosives and designing missiles and warheads suitable for a nuclear payload.
While a Feb. 22 IAEA report said a probe had made progress on other past nuclear activities, it said Tehran had not responded properly to intelligence purportedly showing nuclear weapons technology being developed by Iran.
Iran has focused on the agency's assessment of progress on some topics to assert that the IAEA report vindicates its claims that its nuclear project is strictly civilian. Soltanieh on Monday said the report "proves Iran's activities are peaceful."
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Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report from the United Nations in New York.
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