The IAEA Board was briefed further today on Agency verification activities in Iran. Mr. Pierre Goldschmidt, head of IAEA Safeguards, updated the Board on work conducted since November 2004. Among other areas, he covered activities related to Iran´s centrifuge programme, including past technology acquisition; the origin of uranium particle contamination of some components; and Iran's suspension of enrichment activities.
Mr. Goldschmidt said that since November 2004, inspections were carried out at Iranian nuclear facilities in Tehran, Natanz, Esfahan, and inspectors were granted complementary access at three locations. Among Agency activities, he reported on:
Centrifuge Programme
He said the IAEA is expecting some progress regarding the origin of low-enriched and high-enriched particle uranium particle contamination of old centrifuge components. In January 2005, IAEA inspectors visited locations outside Iran where centrifuge components had been stored before their shipment to Iran. Environmental samples were collected from these locations and are being analysed.
Regarding Iran's past acquisition of centrifuge technology, Mr. Goldschmidt said that the IAEA has requested all relevant documentation from Iran for its review. He said that the document Iran showed to the Agency on 12 January 2005 reflected an offer said to have been made to Iran in 1987 by a foreign intermediary. The document suggests that the offer included, among other items, the delivery of a disassembled sample machine; drawings, specifications and calculations for a "complete plant"; and materials for 2000 centrifuge machines. Iran has stated that only some of these items were delivered and that all of those items had been declared to the IAEA.
Suspension of Enrichment
Mr. Goldschmidt said the Agency has continued its activities to verify all elements of Iran’s voluntary suspension of enrichment-related and reprocessing activities. He said the IAEA has requested clarification from Iran of certain activities carried out with regard to some centrifuge components. Iran had declared the items to the IAEA, he said, but they had not been placed under IAEA safeguards seals.