The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday unanimously approved major cuts in aid to Iran as part of United Nations sanctions on the Islamic Republic over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a spokesman said.
Diplomats said that while developing nations serving on the IAEA’s 35-member board of governors had expressed concern that politically motivated action might set a precedent that could hurt their aid, they had nevertheless backed the cuts on the recommendation of IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei. Speaking for the European Union, German ambassador to the IAEA, Peter Gottwald, told the board on Wednesday that although nations clearly had a right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy –“it is the EU’s understanding that no assistance shall be provided to the Islamic Republic of Iran in the proliferation-sensitive areas of enrichment related, reprocessing or heavy water related activities or the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems”.
Instead, he said Iran-directed aid would be restricted to food, agricultural, medical, safety or other humanitarian purposes, in accordance with last December’s UNSC resolution. Similarly, Egyptian ambassador to the UN nuclear watchdog, Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy, told reporters that while aid “should be immune from political pressures, in the case of Iran because of the special circumstances, I think something creative has to be done”. Examples from an IAEA report show approval of a project to help Iran “prepare therapeutic sources . . . and radio-pharmaceuticals for cancer treatment,” saying that this was “entirely for medical purposes”. But the agency rejected a project “to strengthen ... capabilities ... for provision of safe and reliable nuclear power generation capacities,” saying that this was outside the limits of the UNSC resolution. |