Russia
and China are leaning on the International Atomic Energy Agency to
soften or not issue a report expected in two weeks detailing Iran's
suspected efforts to develop nuclear weapons, diplomats said Tuesday.
"It does seem like the Russians and Chinese are pressuring the
IAEA to refrain from reporting on the possible military dimensions of
Iran's nuclear program," one Western diplomat said.
However, another Western envoy to the United Nations body said
they expected the IAEA's head, Yukiya Amano, to resist such pressure
publish the report the week before a Nov, 17-18 meeting of the 35-member
IAEA board.
What Amano says in the report "is not going to be reflection
on who has bent his ear in one direction or the other," the diplomat
said on condition of anonymity, saying the document would be a "major
number."
Previous agency reports have concentrated on Iran's efforts to
enrich uranium, giving it the fissile material needed to produce
electricity or medical isotopes, or, if purified further, for nuclear
weapons.
But the new one is expected to address what the IAEA calls the
"possible military dimension," meaning Iran's exploration of how to put
the fissile material in a warhead and developing ballistic missiles.
Amano said in a September report he was "increasingly
concerned" about such activities, saying its information was "extensive
and comprehensive and has been acquired both from many [IAEA] member
states and through its own efforts."
Iran, which has been hit by four rounds of U.N. Security
Council resolutions, says its nuclear activities are peaceful and in the
past has called such information fabricated.