Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday that Iran considers a nuclear fuel swap with any supplier as a valid option providing its conditions are met.

During his weekly press conference, Mehmanparast said that Iran’s “priority is to obtain fuel” for a Tehran medical research reactor.

An IAEA-backed deal requires Tehran to send most of its low-enriched uranium abroad for further processing to be formed in special rods for the research reactor.

Iran says it would agree to a deal if guarantees are provided by the West that the fuel would be shipped to the country in a timely manner, but such demand has been shrugged off by the West.

Iran is currently enriching uranium to the level of less than 20 percent and the country’s nuclear chief says the special plates for the fuel will be manufactured in the next few months.

Mehmanparast made it clear Tuesday that Iran was still open to a swap.

“If the [International Atomic Energy] Agency suggests a country in possession of the 20-percent enriched fuel, we are ready to buy [the fuel]. Besides, if there are countries ready for a swap which will fulfill our conditions, we are ready; otherwise, we will produce the fuel [ourselves],” he said.

On threats of new sanctions against Iran, Mehmanparast said that such punitive measures were legally baseless as Tehran’s nuclear work is being fully monitored by the UN nuclear watchdog.

US-led calls for more sanctions against Iran have mainly received a chilly response by China, a veto-wielding member of the UNSC, which insists that diplomacy should be exercised regarding the nuclear standoff.

Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has urged the top nuclear body to switch its focus from Syria’s atomic work to Israel’s nuclear arsenal as the main cause for concern.

Ali Asghar Soltanieh read out a statement in the Thursday meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors on the implementation of the Safeguards Agreements in Syria.

In the statement, Soltanieh said that Iran was “deeply concerned” about the IAEA’s verification measures which, he said have shifted focus from Israel’s nuclear work as the main source of problem to “secondary technical” issues.

“The core problem is, in fact, the Zionist regime of Israel’s offensive against Syria which is a blatant violation of the UN Charter and the international law including the Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency,” Fars News Agency quoted Soltanieh as saying on Thursday.

In September 2007, Israeli warplanes destroyed Syria’s al-Kibar military site blaming the country for harboring a nuclear reactor there, a claim rejected by Syria.

Soltanieh then accused Israel and its allies of having engaged the IAEA in a made-up scenario by raising “false claims” against Syria.

“Meanwhile, those member states who cry foul over Syria ['s nuclear work] have turned a blind eye to the Israeli regime’s nuclear arsenal, which poses a serious threat to both regional and global peace and security,” he said.

An IAEA report by Director General Yukiya Amano said in February that uranium particles found at the Syrian complex suggest the possibility of covert nuclear activity at the site.

In response to the report, Syria said that unlike Israel, it was “committed to the non-proliferation agreement,” reiterating that its nuclear work is totally peaceful.

Israel, the world’s sixth largest nuclear weapons power, maintains a policy known as “nuclear ambiguity” and continues to remain outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Iran’s envoy to the UN nuclear watchdog says the director general’s silence over Tehran’s objections made to the report shows that he too recognizes its problems.

“The silence adopted by the Director-General and certain others about the objections we had made shows that [Yukiya] Amano has also reached the conclusion that the report is somewhat problematic,” Ali-Asghar Soltanieh said on Wednesday.

The Iranian ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, who was talking to reporters after the IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, added that Amano’s February report raised already closed issues without any cause.

Soltanieh said the report reintroduced past issues while the only new development in Iran’s nuclear program since the beginning of Amano’s term was that the IAEA supervised steps taken to enrich uranium up to 20 percent.

The envoy, who had criticized the report in his address to the Board, said that over 100 countries of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has also raised similar concerns about the report in a statement issued in support of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.

“Fortunately, the Egyptian ambassador who was speaking on behalf of more than 100 NAM states read out a very strongly-worded statement in support of Iran, directly criticizing the new Director-General’s report for the first time.

“The Egyptian ambassador once again stressed that every country has the right to conduct peaceful nuclear activities, urging the normalization of Iran’s safeguards agreement and an end to this issue,” he said.

Last month, the new IAEA director general issued his first report on Iran’s nuclear program, once again verifying the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran.

Amano’s report, however, did raise some concerns about “the possible existence… of past or current undisclosed activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile.”

While the US used that segment of the report to renew its threats against Iran, Tehran pointed out that the report raised no “new cause for concern”, but simply addressed a series of past issues already examined by former IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei.

The newly-issued NAM statement however condemned threats of a military strike against Iran.

The NAM statement said, “NAM confirms the basic and inalienable right of all states to the development, research, production and use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, without any discrimination and in conformity with their respective legal obligations.”

“Therefore, nothing should be interpreted in a way as inhibiting or restricting the right of states to develop atomic energy for peaceful purposes,” it added.

“States’ choices and decisions including those of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear technology and its fuel cycle policies must be respected,” the 118-member movement said in its statement.

“NAM reaffirms the inviolability of peaceful nuclear activities and that any attack or threat of attack against peaceful nuclear activities, operational or under construction, poses a serious threat to human beings and the purposes of the Charter of the United Nation and of the regulations of the IAEA.”

Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ali Asghar Soltanieh said Wednesday that western countries have derailed the IAEA from its statutory mandate.

“Once again the application of safeguards in my country is on the agenda of the Board of Governors after over 6 years! Why?” Soltanieh said in Vienna before the IAEA Board of Governors on Wednesday.

“A thorough and careful diagnosis of the past developments shows that the root cause is the hidden agenda of few western countries, specifically the United Sates, to derail the agency from its statutory mandate as an international technical organization established for promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, to a merely a verification organization,” he added.

“They also have tried to jeopardize its independence through instrumental use of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). In a nutshell, to change the agency’s prestigious identity to a UN watchdog! To monitor and control Vienna from New York!” he explained.

According to the Iranian envoy, Iran’s peaceful nuclear program is merely a pretext for the implementation of this ill-intentioned and dangerous course of action.

“Today [it] is Iran, tomorrow [it] is another developing country! They have already started confrontation against Syria, under the false pretexts, following the Israeli military aggression,” he noted.

“The secretariat has been and is under tremendous pressure and continuous interference by those few countries. My government hopes that the new director general will resist such pressures to keep the impartiality of the agency as he has already reiterated during the election campaign and taking oath ceremony,” he asserted.

“These are warning worrisome signals which require mobilization for an immediate common action by majority of member states, especially by developing countries, against the attitude and conducts of a few western countries, which damages the credibility, integrity and the independence of the agency,” Soltanieh concluded.

Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, insists that its program is directed at the civilian applications of the technology, including clean energy production.

World powers, most of which possess and continue to develop a variety of nuclear arsenals that have been tested and even used in military confrontations, accuse Iran of the “intention” to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels and have gone to great lengths to prevent the country from producing fuel for its medical and industrial needs.

The US and its European allies have been pushing hard for new sanctions against Iran in a bid to force the country meet their demands over its nuclear program.

Western countries have already imposed three rounds of UNSC-backed sanctions on Iran and are currently lobbying for a fourth, which is believed to contain a “symbolic” tightening of economic measures against the Tehran government, which has maintained that any such actions will again prove futile.

The European Union voices its support for action by the United Nations Security Council against Iran but says it favors diplomatic engagement with the country.

Speaking on behalf of the EU on Wednesday, Spain started off by expressing willingness for diplomatic engagement with Iran.

“The European Union remains ready to engage with Iran in order to reach a negotiated solution to the issue, should Iran take concrete decisions toward that end,” according to the joint EU statement read out by Spain to a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.

Meanwhile, the statement described Iran’s actions regarding its nuclear issue as “persistent failure to meet its international obligations”, adding that it requires “a clear response, including through appropriate measures.”

“The European Union would support action by the UNSC (UN Security Council) if Iran continues not to cooperate with the international community over its nuclear program. The European Union stands ready to take the necessary steps to accompany this UNSC process,” it added.

The statement was read out to the IAEA’s 35-member board of governors, which is currently holding its four-day spring meeting.

The announcement was made as the US is stepping up efforts to slap tough sanctions against Iran in a bid to force the country into meeting its demands over its nuclear program.

The efforts, however, have met with a cold response from China, a veto-wielding member of the Security Council. The 118-member bloc of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has also voiced support for Iran’s nuclear program and criticized the West for exerting pressure on Tehran.

Iran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), says its program is directed at the civilian applications of the technology, including energy production.

Iran’s ambassador to the UN nuclear watchdog Ali Asghar Soltanieh urges the agency to work on its weaknesses and focus on its main responsibilities.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has serious concerns about the approach taken by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) during recent years,” Soltanieh told the Islamic Republic News Agency following the IAEA’s Board of Governors meeting in Vienna on Tuesday.

“We expect the IAEA will overcome its weak points through collective cooperation of like-minded countries,” he added.

The Iranian diplomat reiterated that the IAEA is an international organization that should focus on developing the use of nuclear energy for peaceful applications.

“The IAEA should not turn into an inspectorate and control organization,” Soltanieh added.

Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, insists that its program is directed at the civilian applications of the technology, including clean energy production.

World powers, most of which possess and continue to develop a variety of nuclear arsenals that have been tested and even used in military confrontations, accuse Iran of the “intention” to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels and have gone to great lengths to prevent the country from producing fuel for its medical and industrial needs.

The US and its European allies have been pushing hard for tough new sanctions against Iran in a bid to force the country meet their demands over its nuclear program.

Western countries have already imposed three rounds of UNSC-backed sanctions on Iran and are currently lobbying for a fourth, which is believed to contain a “symbolic” tightening of economic measures against the Tehran government, which has maintained that any such actions will again prove futile.

As US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tours Latin America to recruit support for new international sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, Tel Aviv urges Washington to adopt Cuba-like embargos against Tehran.

Israel and the US accuse Iran of seeking nuclear arms, as Tel Aviv threatens to attack Iranian nuclear installations and Washington warns of keeping ‘all options on the table,’ including economic sanctions and military measures.

Iran, however, says its program, which is extensively monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is directed at the civilian applications of the technology. The country has also called on all nuclear powers to abandon atomic weaponry and eliminate all such arsenal.

Clinton, meanwhile, is on a five-day tour of Latin America. She was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that Washington is working “expeditiously and thoroughly” to rally support for new Iran sanctions.

She has arrived in Brazil, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC), to win support for the sanctions. Brazil has repeatedly said that Iran is entitled to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.

Although the IAEA says it continues to verify the non-diversion of Iran’s nuclear material, the UNSC has already imposed three rounds of sanctions on the country.

Amid the intensified efforts by the US to impose fresh sanctions, China has appeared to reject the calls to support such a measure. Beijing argues that more negotiations are required to resolve the nuclear issue.

Israel, meanwhile, said Tuesday that the US should impose unilateral sanctions on Iran to isolate the country the same way it acted alone on Cuba 50 years ago, Reuters reported.

“We are a little worried by the pace of developments in the international arena,” Lieberman told reporters. “I think that from now on Israel should perhaps change its Iran policy a little, and we should ask the United States to adopt the Cuban model … Here the United States alone can do everything in order to stop this (Iranian) program.”

Iranian officials have argued that favorite US pressure tactics such as sanctions are outdated and no longer relevant in the global economy as they have been proven futile in the last three attempts against the Islamic Republic. They insist that imposing new sanctions on Iran will further expose the irrelevancy of the UN as a viable international body.

Former UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei, a potential candidate for presidency in Egypt, says the country will only change through the young, report says.

“If Egypt were going to change, it is going to change through the young people,” he told Reuters.

“I believe the current system is not free and fair, and, whoever would run under the current system, I would make it very clear that this is not democracy as it should be,” he added in the report published Saturday.

ElBaradei said that he would run for 2011 presidency “only if people coalesce around me.”

The 67-year-old former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director, said that the advocacy of the so-called ’silent majority’ held the key to success for his coalition of opposition parties in the next presidential race.

“The key is the silent majority of the Egyptians, and if the silent majority subscribes to this National Front. I think that will make a very big difference,” he noted.

“I have tried to make the connection between economic and social development and political reform. If you move into a democratic system everything else will fall into place,” he went on to say.

“It is going to take a long time to switch Egypt into a democracy,” ElBaradei said in the interview, holding that many Egyptians were “intimidated” against speaking their minds.

Egypt’s current President Hosni Mubarak has been in power for around 30 years.

Iran’s ambassador to the UN nuclear watchdog has described the latest IAEA report on Tehran’s nuclear work as “unbalanced.”

In a note to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a copy of which was obtained by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Ali Asghar Soltanieh said the report was neither balanced nor factual.

Soltanieh said the report did not mention Iran’s “explanations” and the “correspondence” between Iran and the Agency.

The report instead went into “unnecessary” technical details that only created ambiguities over Iran’s nuclear work, he said.

“Unfortunately, the [IAEA] director general’s report has been prepared in such a way that the tiresome outdated issue of the alleged studies has once again been brought out as a new issue.”

He added that the issue of the alleged studies, which was mentioned in the report, was “not authenticated” and did not bear any “confidentiality stamps.”

“Why does the new report not reflect the critical issue that the alleged studies lack any authentication as stressed by former director general Mohamed ElBaradei?” he queried.

The current UN nuclear watchdog head, Yukiya Amano, issued a report about Iran’s nuclear program on February 18.

Amano, in his first report on Iran’s nuclear activities, once again verified the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran but called on Tehran to further discuss and cooperate on the issue of the alleged studies.

The US and its allies insist that Iran should cooperate with the IAEA over their so-called “alleged studies” of weaponization. Such studies purportedly implicate Iran in pursuing a “green salt project, high explosives testing, and a missile re-entry vehicle project.”

Iran considers such documents to be forged, demanding that the IAEA provide Tehran with copies of the documents so that Iran can inform the Agency of its assessment. IAEA has so far failed to provide the documents to Iran.

Soltanieh said the allegations are an attempt to confuse the public, and are damaging the credibility of the UN agency.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has announced the Islamic Republic will study a Japanese offer to enrich uranium for Tehran.

“It has the substance to be worth discussing. We want to deepen the discussion on it,” Nikkei Business Daily quoted Larijani as saying in Tokyo late Wednesday.

According to an earlier report by the Japanese newspaper, Tokyo made the offer in December while Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, was visiting the country.

On Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told the Iranian parliament speaker that Teheran should implement UN Security Council resolutions and fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “to remove all the doubts about Iran’s nuclear development.”

Hatoyama further pointed out that Japan regards Iran as “an important country” and wishes to further enhance bilateral relations.

Larijani, for his part, denied that the Islamic Republic was seeking weapons of mass destruction as claimed by the United States and its allies.

On Saturday, the Iranian official is scheduled to visit the western Japanese city of Nagasaki, which was hit by an American atomic bomb at the end of World War II, three days after a US nuclear attack devastated nearby Hiroshima.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on February 11 that Tehran has successfully managed to complete the production of its first stock of uranium enriched to 20 percent.

“We have produced the first batch of 20 percent enriched uranium at the Natanz enrichment facility,” Ahmadinejad said at a rally marking the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Tehran.

Iran says that it is a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and, unlike Israel, neither believes in atomic weapons nor, as a matter of religious principle, intends to access such weapons.

Furthermore, Tehran has repeatedly called for the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction throughout the globe.

Iran’s nuclear facilities and enriched uranium remain under the supervision of IAEA inspectors, as outlined in the NPT Safeguards Agreement.

The UN nuclear watchdog has carried out the highest number of inspections in Iran, compared to any other country throughout its history and has found nothing to indicate any diversion toward weaponization.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has criticized the UN nuclear watchdog for failing to carry out its responsibilities to transfer know-how and technology to its member states.

“Although the Islamic Republic has remained committed to its obligations to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the agency does not fulfill its duties about supplying fuel needed for the Tehran research reactor,” Larijani said in Tokyo on Wednesday.

“Based on terms of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the IAEA has no right to urge Iran to suspend its nuclear activities,” he told Japan’s House of Councilors President Satsuki Eda.

Iran, a signatory to the NPT, says its nuclear program is directed at the civilian applications of the technology. However, the West accuses the country of conducting a covert military nuclear program.

The Iranian parliament speaker reiterated that the country’s nuclear activities have always pursued peaceful purposes.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva says world powers should avoid isolating Iran over its nuclear program, as it would not help secure global peace.

“Peace in the world does not mean isolating someone,” Lula said at a joint press conference with his Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderon on Tuesday.

“I’m going to Iran in May to buy things from them,” he added.

The Brazilian president was in Mexico to take part in a summit of leaders of Latin America and the Caribbean.

World powers, led by the US, accuse Tehran of pursuing military applications under the guise of a civilian nuclear program, although IAEA inspectors stationed in Iran have so far been unable to substantiate their claim.

Despite the US stance, Brasilia has opposed efforts to impose sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

The Latin American state, which has its own nuclear energy program, has not backed US allegations that Tehran is seeking a nuclear weapon.

Also in November, Lula had stressed that his country supports Iran’s efforts to obtain “peaceful nuclear energy in full respect of international accords.”

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs has declared that the United States’ “time and patience is running out” over Iran’s nuclear program.

Gibbs said that Iran will face “consequences” if it continues uranium enrichment, AFP reported on Tuesday.

Recent pronouncements by Iranian leaders showed “they have no interest in building international confidence that their nuclear program is for peaceful means,” he added.

The US is making such accusations even though the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities and has found no evidence of the diversion of nuclear material to a weapons program.

In addition, Iran has stated on several occasions that it will continue its cooperation with the IAEA.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday that Tehran has sent a letter to the IAEA to announce its readiness to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog to obtain nuclear fuel for the Tehran research reactor.

Tehran has repeatedly declared that it will never relinquish the Iranian nation’s legitimate nuclear rights, no matter how much pressure the West imposes on the country.

Iran’s parliament speaker says the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is under the influence of certain western countries.

“Unfortunately the International Atomic Energy Agency is under the influence of some Western countries,” Ali Larijani said on Monday.

He says these countries are trying to make problem in development of Iran’s civilian nuclear drive.

Larijani referred to the UN watchdog’s latest report on Iran’s nuclear energy program and described it as biased, calling on the IAEA to act independently.

On Thursday, the IAEA released another two-sided report on Tehran’s enrichment program, criticizing Iran for a range of issues, but verifying the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in the country at the same time.

Iran’s envoy to the UN atomic watchdog said the concern expressed in the Agency’s latest report is “groundless,” as it is not based on any new information.

“It seems that unsubstantiated allegations that certain countries had previously made about Iran have once again been introduced in this report,” Tehran’s Ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, told ISNA on Friday.

“Issues pertaining to the ‘alleged studies, missiles and explosives’ are worn-out topics, which have already been dismissed in ElBaradei’s reports. They are not anything new,” he added.

Referring to the assassination of a Hamas official in Dubai last month, Larijani accused western powers of supporting what he described Zionist massacre in the region.

Dubai police released photos and information of eleven European passport holders, who murdered Hamas commander Mahmud al-Mabhouh in his hotel room on January 20.

The suspects were allegedly Mossad agents that used British, Irish, French, and German passports, Dubai police said.

Larijani made the comments as he was heading to Japan for a five-day visit. He said the visit will boost ties between Tehran and Tokyo in different fields.

A delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has arrived in Tehran to assess the country’s nuclear safety system, an Iranian nuclear official says.

The group of “senior officials from the IAEA’s Nuclear Safety & Security department” has arrived in the county, Ali Shirzadian, a spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, said on Sunday.

“The IAEA experts will be staying in Iran for about two weeks,” he continued.

The Department of Nuclear Safety and Security contributes to efforts to achieve and maintain a high level of nuclear safety and prepare for emergencies through the enhancement of national measures and international cooperation.

Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), says its nuclear program is directed at civilian applications of the technology. The West, however, accuses the country of conducting a covert military nuclear program, particularly since earlier this month Iran started to enrich uranium to the 20-percent level.

On Thursday, the new head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Yukiya Amano, issued a two-sided report about Iran’s nuclear program.

The report, while critical of some aspects of Iran’s uranium enrichment, once again verified the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in the country.

“The information available to the Agency is extensive… broadly consistent and credible in terms of the technical detail, the time frame in which the activities were conducted and the people, and organizations involved,” the Vienna-based IAEA said in the report.

The report, however, called on Tehran to further discuss and cooperate on the issue of the alleged studies. “Iran has not provided the necessary cooperation to permit the Agency to confirm that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities,” it added.

Iran’s envoy to the UN atomic watchdog said the concern expressed in the Agency’s latest report is “groundless,” as it is not based on any new information.

“It seems that unsubstantiated allegations that certain countries had previously made about Iran have once again been introduced in this report,” Tehran’s Ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, told ISNA on Friday.

“Issues pertaining to the ‘alleged studies, missiles and explosives’ are worn-out topics, which have already been dismissed in ElBaradei’s reports. They are not anything new,” he added.

He then went on to imply that the IAEA’s decision to reintroduce past issues and take a different tone was the direct result of a change in its leadership, and not the outcome of not an unbiased evaluation.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has slammed the UN nuclear watchdog for submitting to the will of certain powerful countries over Iran’s nuclear energy program.

“To maintain its prestige, we expect the [International Atomic Energy] Agency (IAEA) to not allow certain countries to impose their will on the international community through political approaches,” he told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

“The IAEA should adopt a legal approach to the issue of Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities,” he added.

Mehmanparast was referring to a report issued on Thursday by IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano which accuses Tehran of not providing “the necessary cooperation to permit the Agency to confirm that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities.”

Like all previous IAEA reports, the new evaluation verifies the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran.

However, Iran’s nuclear facilities and enriched uranium are still under the supervision of IAEA inspectors, as outlined in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Safeguards Agreement.

The UN nuclear watchdog has carried out the highest number of inspections in Iran compared to any other country throughout its history, and found nothing to indicate that the program has diverted toward weaponization.

Amano’s report also says that there were concerns about “the possible existence” of past or current undisclosed activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile.

Tehran’s Ambassador to the IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh criticized the inclusion of old issues in the report. “It seems that unsubstantiated allegations that certain countries had previously made about Iran have once again been introduced in this report.”

“Issues pertaining to the alleged studies, missiles and explosives are worn-out topics, which have already been dismissed in ElBaradei’s reports. They are not anything new,” he added.

Mehmanparast stressed that Iran has remained committed to its undertakings and said, “Any move carried out beyond legal framework pursues certain political aims.”

He said that political pressure is aimed at depriving Iran of modern technology and this is “not acceptable.”

“The international community expects certain nuclear countries to keep their promises about the destruction of their nuclear weapons,” added the spokesman.

Iran’s envoy to the IAEA has objected to the fact that suspicions have been raised about Tehran’s nuclear activities only because it is not implementing voluntary protocols.

“We have to be able distinguish between two different issues. One is the Safeguards Agreement… and the other is additional measures, which are voluntary like the additional protocol. They cover more activities,” Ali-Asghar Soltanieh told Press TV on Sunday.

“For example, if a country also applies the additional protocol, as we were doing for two and a half years, they would be reporting on uranium mines. Now we are not reporting,” he added, pointing out that it did not mean that Iran was doing anything wrong.

Soltanieh was referring to a report issued on Thursday by International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano which accuses Tehran of not providing “the necessary cooperation to permit the Agency to confirm that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities.”

However, Iran’s nuclear facilities and enriched uranium are still under the supervision of IAEA inspectors, as outlined in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Safeguards Agreement.

Like all previous IAEA reports, the newly issued evaluation verifies the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran, but the complaint about the level of cooperation refers to Iran’s lack of inclination to implement the additional protocol.

Amano’s report also says that there were concerns about “the possible existence… of past or current undisclosed activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile.”

Soltanieh also addressed that part of the report, saying that the IAEA chief cites no “new cause for concern” about Tehran’s activities except a series of alleged documents that were already examined by his predecessor Mohamed ElBaradei.

Three years ago, a row erupted between Iran and the West when the CIA claimed to have obtained a series of documents on a laptop that had allegedly been smuggled out of Iran.

According to the CIA’s claim, the documents apparently showed Iranian nuclear work deviating toward militarization.

However, afterwards the US refused to provide either Tehran or the IAEA access to the contents of the laptop for independent analysis or confirmation, arguing that the reports were top secret.

This, along with other points raised by Iranian officials and independent media, leads to serious doubts about the authenticity of the documents.

The absence of any confidentiality stamps, dates, or senders and recipients markings on the rather detailed documents was one of the main points that Tehran had raised in a 117-page document that disputed the authenticity of the alleged papers.

During his interview with Press TV, Soltanieh said that he has asked the IAEA director general why he included a reference to past issues regarding Tehran’s nuclear program in his first report on Iran.

Soltanieh added that Amano had acknowledged that his reference to the alleged studies was “absolutely nothing new” but simply an attempt to provide a background on all previous issues regarding Iran’s nuclear program.

“There is nothing new. The alleged studies were forged… two or three times, Mr. ElBaradei officially announced that there is no authenticity to these materials. Therefore, the director general has already questioned the validity of these materials.

“Mr. Amano only tried to bring a full background on the issues that were discussed before for the reader to understand the background. Of course it unfortunately has created some misunderstandings,” Soltanieh said.

After the release of the latest UN nuclear watchdog’s report on Iran’s nuclear work, Syria says it seeks to engage Iran and the West in a “constructive” dialogue.

“We are trying to engage a constructive dialogue between the two parties in order to reach a peaceful solution,” Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said on Saturday.

He expressed Syria’s opposition to impose fresh Iran sanctions, saying, “Sanctions are not a solution (to the standoff) between Iran and the West.”

He rejected Western allegations that Iran is seeking atomic weapons and said, “Iran does not have a nuclear military program.”

On Thursday, the new head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano issued a two-sided report about Iran’s nuclear program.

The report, while critical of some aspects of Iran’s uranium enrichment, once again verified the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in the country.

Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), says its nuclear program is directed at the civilian applications of the technology. However, the West accuses the country of conducting a covert military nuclear program particularly after Iran started earlier this month to enrich uranium to the 20-percent level.

The IAEA report also confirmed that Iran is enriching uranium to the 20-percent level, required for the fuel used in the medical research reactor in Tehran.

Russia on Friday accused Iran of refusing to cooperate with the UN nuclear agency, demanding “clear explanations” from the country on its nuclear program.

“We are very alarmed and we cannot accept this, that Iran is refusing to cooperate with the (International Atomic Energy Agency) IAEA,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

“For about 20 years, the Iranian leadership carried out its clandestine nuclear program without reporting it to the IAEA,” he said. “I do not understand why there was such secrecy.”

The remarks came after a report by the IAEA on Thursday confirmed that Iran is enriching uranium to the 20-percent level, required for fuel used in the medical research reactor in Tehran.

According to Reuters, the IAEA also made public a classified analysis, which claimed Iran has explosives expertise relevant to a workable nuclear weapon.

“Some questions remain on the table and Iran has so far not reacted to them but they are rather serious and we need to understand how several documents concerning military nuclear technology found their way to Iran,” Lavrov said.

“Clear explanations are needed.”

Leader of the Islamic Ummah and Opressed People Imam Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Friday moved to refute the allegations, declaring that Iran neither believes in atomic bombs nor seeking to develop such weapons.

Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), says its nuclear program is directed at the civilian applications of the technology. The West, however, accuses the country of conducting a covert military nuclear program.

The US-led campaign for fresh sanctions against the country over its nuclear program and the delays over a nuclear fuel-swap deal between Tehran and the West appeared to be gaining more support in Europe with Germany, France and Sweden expressing concerns over the IAEA claim.

Berlin threatened Tehran with new sanctions if it refuses to increase its cooperation with the UN body.

“I don’t want to set any deadline, but make it clear that the patience of the international community is not unlimited,” German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle was quoted by DPA.

France urged world powers to act with “determination” against Tehran following the IAEA report.

“This report confirms precisely the very serious concerns of the international community,” French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero was quoted by AFP.

However, Iran’s envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said the report was a verification of the non-diversion of the nuclear material in the country.

Iran says it conducts its program under the supervision of IAEA inspectors and in line with its obligations under the NPT.

Sweden, meanwhile, urged Iran to adhere to the previous UN Security Council resolutions against the country and abandon its enrichment program.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said it was “difficult to know” whether Iran was operating a weapons program.

“They have an enrichment program that is not in accordance with decisions made by the United Nations Security Council,” Bildt said.

Under the NPT, Iran says, it is entitled to enrich uranium to any level for civilian purposes, including providing the research reactor with fuel and feeding its under-construction nuclear power plants.

After the UN nuclear watchdog head Yukiya Amano issued a two-sided report about Iran’s nuclear program, the US renews criticism over Tehran’s pursuit of its nuclear activities.

The report continues “to demonstrate the failure of the Iranian government to live up to its international obligations,” US President Barack Obama’s spokesman said on Thursday.

The report is the first one under new International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Chief Amano who reportedly wants to see his job as “just the facts,” and to pursue a more technical approach than former IAEA Director General Mohamed El Baradei.

“The president has on a number of occasions talked about engagement, talked about the benefits of living up to those international obligations,” White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.

“We always said that if Iran failed to live up to those international obligations that there would be consequences,” he added.

The report once again verified the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran.

“The information available to the agency is extensive… broadly consistent and credible in terms of the technical detail, the time frame in which the activities were conducted and the people, and organizations involved,” the Vienna-based IAEA said in the report.

However, the 10-page report called on Iran to further discuss and cooperate on alleged issues.

“Iran has not provided the necessary cooperation to permit the agency to confirm that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities,” it added.

“Altogether this raises concerns about the possible existence in Iran of past or current undisclosed activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile,” Amano said.

This is while the UN nuclear watchdog has carried out the highest number of inspections in its history on Iran’s nuclear energy program and has also found nothing to indicate that the program has diverted toward weaponization.

In a reaction to Amano’s report, Iran’s IAEA Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh said on Thursday the agency’s chief confirmed the fact that the country’s nuclear program is peaceful in nature.

“In fact Amano’s report once more confirmed all previous reports over the past six years which showed that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful,” Soltanieh said.

The US and its allies accuse the Islamic Republic of pursuing a nuclear weapons program. Tehran, however, rejects the allegation as politically-motivated.

Iran’s nuclear program was launched in the 1950s with the help of the United States as part of the Atoms for Peace program.

After the 1979 revolution which toppled a US-backed monarch in Iran, Western companies working on Iran’s program refused to fulfill their obligations even though they had been paid in full.