U.N. Says It Hasn't Found Much New About Nuclear Iran

Mark Landler, The New York Times:

Despite an intense two-and-a-half year investigation, key elements of Iran's nuclear program remain shrouded in mystery, according to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' watchdog.

The confidential report, distributed Friday to members of the board, is likely to heighten tensions between Iran and the West two weeks before a critical board meeting here.

While it casts some new light on suspicious uranium contamination at Iranian sites, the report mostly summarizes the government's reluctance to resolve questions surrounding its acquisition of nuclear equipment and the nature of activities at several facilities. READ MORE

Officials in Washington said they were still analyzing the report.

Earlier in the week, however, some officials said they had hoped the report would contain enough concrete evidence of Iranian misconduct that it would persuade wavering members of the board to censure Iran when they meet on Sept. 19, and to refer the questions about its nuclear program to the Security Council for possible sanctions.

European officials hold out hope for a revival of talks between Iran and Europe, though they, too, are frustrated.

"Two and a half years have passed, and patience is wearing thin," said an official close to the agency, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the report was not being made public.

The report also confirmed that Iran has begun processing nuclear fuel, ending a voluntary suspension of such activity during talks about its program with Britain, France and Germany.

Diplomats have been eagerly awaiting the report, by the agency's director general, Mohamed ElBaradei, because some hoped it would give them fresh ammunition to take tougher steps against Iran.

Much of the information, however, was in the agency's last major report on Iran, in November 2004. And the agency's conclusion - that it is not in a position to say whether the government is pursuing a clandestine nuclear program - remains unchanged.

A copy of the report was provided by a diplomat who wanted its contents made public before the board meeting on Sept. 19.

What the document does disclose is mounting frustration within the agency about its inability to get answers to questions, despite repeated requests and visits to Iran by its inspectors.

Departing from its carefully neutral tone, it concludes, "In view of the fact that the agency is not in a position to clarify some important outstanding issues after two and a half years of intensive inspection and investigation, Iran's full transparency is indispensable and overdue."

Among the mysteries is how Iran first obtained centrifuges used to enrich uranium. The government presented the agency with a one-page handwritten document that Tehran says related to an offer it received in 1987 of blueprints and components for 2,000 centrifuges. Despite requests, Iran has not produced any other documentation about this offer, which it said came from a foreign intermediary.

The agency also cannot determine whether Iran was conducting nuclear research at a site in Tehran called Lavisan-Shian; it was demolished in 2004. The agency would like to interview scientists who worked there.

The government continues to resist the agency's efforts to conduct a full inspection of a site in Parchin, where Iran is suspected of nuclear activities. Inspectors on limited visits have not found nuclear material.

The agency said there were also discrepancies in information provided by Iran about its plutonium research. Plutonium, like highly enriched uranium, can be used to make nuclear explosives.

Iran, which contends its nuclear program is peaceful, said the report had both "positive and negative points." Pledging to cooperate with the agency, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali A. Larijani, said Friday on state television, "Many of the questions have been answered from a legal and technical point of view."

The report, however, referred to only a couple of areas where it had gathered more information since November. One that is likely to benefit Iran is the report's investigation of sites that were contaminated by highly enriched uranium and low-enriched uranium.

These sites had housed centrifuge equipment obtained from the clandestine network operated by Pakistan's former chief nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan. The contamination raised suspicion that Iran was enriching uranium beyond the level necessary for civilian uses.

The Iranian government contends the equipment was contaminated in Pakistan before it was exported to Iran. After interviewing Pakistani scientists and taking environmental samples in Pakistan and Dubai, where the parts were stored en route to Iran, the agency said Iran's explanation was convincing - at least as it applied to the evidence of highly enriched uranium.

"We are not yet sure everything is O.K., " said the agency official. "But in a big picture, yes, it tends to support their statement."

Some of the disclosures in the report could provide ammunition to both critics and defenders of Iran.

For example, it notes discrepancies in Iran's account of its plutonium research activities, which critics have recently cited as evidence that Iran is trying to conceal a weapons program.

Iran claimed its plutonium-separation experiments began in 1988 and ended in 1993. But the agency found plutonium solutions in bottles that appeared to be "younger," that is, prepared after 1993.

Iranian officials have since explained that they were "purifying" this plutonium for other research purposes. The agency, after investigation, concluded that the explanation was plausible, though the official said purification and separation were closely related.

The agency also concluded that Iran had tried but failed to buy beryllium, a metal that can be used in nuclear explosives.

Before the report was released, Britain's foreign secretary, Jack Straw, said he hoped talks between Iran and Europe could be rekindled. "We want to see these talks resumed because we not only believe this is in the interests of the international community, but also in the interests of Iran," Mr. Straw said to reporters at a meeting of European foreign ministers in Newport, Wales.

His task will be complicated by Iran's decision to resume the conversion of uranium at a plant in Isfahan. According to the report, Iran has fed about 4,000 kilograms of uranium into the conversion process.

Steven R. Weisman contributed reporting from Washington for this article.