IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei met 16 March with George Tenet, head of the US Central Intelligence Agency, for discussions centred on cooperative efforts to counter the nuclear "black market" and illicit trafficking of nuclear materials and equipment.
Dr. ElBaradei is scheduled to meet 17 March with US President George Bush, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, and other senior officials a range of issues, including IAEA verification of Iran's nuclear programme. He is in Washington for a series of high-level working meetings to discuss current efforts to strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regime. An important aim, he said, is to "move the agenda of the non-proliferation regime forward."
In a radio interview with the US National Public Radio network 16 March, Dr. ElBaradei addressed aspects of the IAEA's verification of nuclear programmes in Iran and Libya. On Iran, he said, "I look forward to close cooperation by Iran for transparency. The ball is clearly in Iran's court for the next couple of months." On Libya, he saw the Agency's work as a model to build upon. "I hope it is regarded as a good model of a country who has decided to move away from weapons of mass destruction. And as I've mentioned a number of occasions, I hope this is not just a one-off case. We need to see that to be the beginning of a Middle East free from weapons of mass destruction and at peace. And the same with Africa."