By Seth Rosen
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
August 9, 2005
Iran resumed uranium-conversion activities at its Isfahan nuclear facility yesterday, breaching an agreement with European countries in an action that Western nations have said could lead them to seek U.N. sanctions against Tehran.
The United States will consult with its European allies before deciding whether to refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said in Washington.
August 15, 2005
Tests appear to clear Iran over nuke traces
15.08.05 1.00pm
VIENNA - Tests by the UN nuclear watchdog appear to confirm that traces of weapons-grade uranium found in Iran came from abroad, reinforcing Tehran's assertion it does not seek atomic weapons, a diplomat said today.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said the issue of contamination is one of two main outstanding questions in its two-year investigation into Iran's nuclear programme. Tehran insists the programme is peaceful, but Western countries suspect it may be a front for developing nuclear weapons.
An analysis of Pakistani components for enrichment centrifuges identical to ones Iran bought on the black market appear to back Tehran's assertion that traces of bomb-grade uranium were the result of contamination, a Western diplomat familiar with the IAEA said.
"There's still some final corroboration to go on but all the preliminary analysis does show that the particles seem to have come from Pakistan," he said, adding that the final result was unlikely to change as a result of work still outstanding.
This appeared to confirm earlier results, reported by Reuters on June 10, that also suggested Tehran did not produce the highly-enriched uranium itself.
