June 11 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. increased its criticism of Iran's stonewalling of nuclear inspectors, and the United Nations atomic agency's chief warned of a ``brewing confrontation'' over the Islamic Republic's uranium enrichment program.
``I am increasingly disturbed by the current stalemate and the brewing confrontation -- a stalemate that urgently needs to be broken, and a confrontation that must be defused,'' International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei told diplomats today at the IAEA's Vienna offices, according to a copy of prepared remarks given to reporters.
The IAEA said May 23 that inspectors are learning less about Iran's atomic work than they did before the UN Security Council imposed sanctions in December, exacerbating fears that the Islamic Republic may be diverting uranium for military purposes. The UN's knowledge of Iran's nuclear work is ``deteriorating,'' ElBaradei said. The IAEA's 35-member board of governors began a new session on Iran today.
Inspectors' reports show the continuation of ``a trend of Iran increasingly withholding cooperation from the IAEA,'' Gregory Schulte, the U.S. ambassador to the agency, said today at a news conference in the Austrian capital. Iran's refusal to show IAEA inspectors preliminary plans for nuclear installations means the country can't be trusted, the U.S. State Department said today in a statement.
Access Suspended
Iran suspended IAEA access to military and research sites last year after the agency referred the dispute over the nuclear program to the Security Council. The IAEA report also found that Iran continued to enrich uranium in defiance of a UN demand to suspend the work, triggering a new round of sanctions including a freeze on the assets of a state-owned Iranian bank and imposition of penalties on some Iranian military commanders.
Iran says it is enriching uranium as part of a nuclear- energy program permitted under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The U.S. says the Islamic Republic is disguising plans to build an atomic bomb, a violation of the accord.
Iran, with the world's second-largest oil and natural gas reserves, has been at the center of U.S. mistrust since President George W. Bush in 2002 labeled the Islamic Republic part of an ``axis of evil,'' along with Iraq under Saddam Hussein and North Korea.
Senator's Comments
Iranian support for anti-U.S. forces in Iraq may justify attacking the Iranian base where fighters are trained, U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman said yesterday on the CBS ``Face the Nation'' program. The Bush administration has stepped up contact with Iran and Syria in recent weeks in an effort to stabilize Iraq. The administration says the two countries are fueling the insurgency in Iraq and providing arms and training to terrorists.
``We have good evidence'' of what the Iranians are doing, said Lieberman. ``If they don't play by the rules, we have to use our force.''
Iran will attack U.S. interests in the Persian Gulf if American forces launch an assault on the nation over its nuclear program, Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr said.
``The U.S. may initiate a devilish act, but continuing and ending that event would certainly be out of its control,'' the state-run Fars news agency reported Zolghadr as saying on June 9. ``All U.S. bases in the region'' are ``within the range'' of Iran's weapons, he said.
The Islamic Republic has refused to give IAEA inspectors preliminary plans for a heavy-water reactor in Arak, ElBaradei told the board. The Arak reactor will produce plutonium, which can be used to generate electricity or build a weapon.
`Lack of Progress'
Iran may be able to build a bomb by 2009 if it's able to conceal work from IAEA inspectors, the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security has said.
``The lack of progress on our verification mission, coupled with additional limitations on our verification authority, has resulted in a deterioration of the agency's level of knowledge regarding certain aspects of Iran's nuclear program,'' ElBaradei said.
European Union and Iranian negotiators met today in Vienna, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The sides are meeting to ``prepare the ground'' for the next round of formal talks, the agency quoted Supreme National Security Council deputy head Javad Vaeedi as saying.
In negotiations headed by European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, the U.S. and European governments have offered economic benefits and technical assistance as an incentive for Iran to suspend the program.
Solana held a round of exploratory talks last week with Iran's top nuclear diplomat, Ali Larijani, seeking to bring Iran back to the table for more formal negotiations.
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