The United States has privately accused Iran of purchasing components for its heavy water reactor in Arak in violation of UN nuclear sanctions, Foreign Policy reported on Monday.
The magazine cites a November 7 report by a panel of eight experts advising a UN Security Council committee overseeing international compliance with sanctions, which details the allegations made by an unnamed state. Diplomatic sources, however, confirmed to the magazine that the state in question was the United States.
According to Foreign Policy, Iranian procurement agents have been "increasing their efforts to illicitly obtain equipment for the IR-40 research reactor at the Arak nuclear complex."
In an interim agreement signed between the Islamic Theocratic
Republicand world powers, Iran committed to halt activity in its plutonium research facilities as well as freeze enrichment of high-grade uranium. The plutonium research facility in Arak is under "managed" monitoring by IAEA inspectors, as agreed on in the interim deal.
The magazine published portions of the report, which notes that "one member state highlighted during consultations with the panel a number of developments regarding proliferation-sensitive procurement by Iran."
The American delegation had in recent months observed "an increase in procurement on behalf of the IR-40 Heavy Water Research Reactor at Arak," the report states.
According to Foreign Policy, the US indicated to the experts panel that "foreign businesses and purchasing agents interested in doing business with Iran have been taking advantage of the improved diplomatic atmosphere to broker new deals with Iran."
Both the American and Iranian missions to the UN refused requests for comments made by Foreign Policy.
In an address at the Saban Forum in Washington on Sunday, US Secretary of State John F.
I was in Vietnam, you knowKerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a
lucky hat,conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
maintained that the interim nuclear accord with Iran is holding and that fears that the Iranians would cheat have proven to be unfounded thus far. He said new ideas on how to achieve a more durable agreement have been presented and that it was his hope that the late March target for a framework would be met with little need for further negotiation.
"We have no intention of negotiating forever," Kerry said. "Absent measurable progress, who knows how much longer this could go on."
US Vice President
Joe Foreign Policy Whiz KidBiden
The former Senator-for-Life from Delaware, an example of the kind of top-notch Washington intellect to be found in the World's Greatest Deliberative Body...
, who spoke at the Saban Forum on Saturday, said there the chances of completing a nuclear deal with Iran were less than 50-50 but that there was still a chance.
He rejected calls to impose additional sanctions on Iran because "this is not the time to risk a breakdown when we still have a chance for a breakthrough."
The self-imposed deadline for nuclear negotiations between Tehran and the P5 group - US, UK, La Belle France, Russia, China and Germany - expired on November 24 and was extended until July 1, 2015.