VIENNA, March 9, 2004 (RIA Novosti correspondent Borislav Pechnikov) - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will continue inspections of Iranian nuclear programs and facilities in order to verify their orientation, IAEA Director General Mohamed El Baradei told the press during a break in a IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna.
"We must thoroughly verify some countries' claims that despite its assurances and the additional protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty it signed, Iran continues working to secretly implement projects to create a nuclear bomb of its own," Mr. El Baradei noted.
"Iran and Libya violated the main provisions of the treaty for many years and we must become convinced that this is not happening now," he added.
As to Tehran's demand to close "the Iranian nuclear file," Mr. El Baradei said, "the situation largely depends on the degree of Iran's cooperation with the IAEA and the fullness of the information that it provides to our agency."
