World powers to censure Iran at IAEA: Diplomats

Vienna: Western nations have convinced Russia and China to join them in censuring Iran at a meeting of the UN atomic watchdog over Tehran's continued expansion of its nuclear programme, diplomats said on Tuesday.

The United States, Britain, France and Germany have persuaded Moscow and Beijing, seen as softer on Iran, to express their "serious concern" at a gathering of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Tuesday, one envoy told AFP.

It remained unclear, however, whether the text, which two others envoys said the six powers were very close to agreeing after days of haggling, would take the form of a statement or a more serious "resolution" to go before IAEA governors.

The IAEA's latest report on August 30 said that Iran had continued to defy multiple UN Security Council resolutions to suspend uranium enrichment by doubling capacity at its underground enrichment facility at Fordo.

Enriched uranium can be used for nuclear power generation or medical purposes but also, when highly purified, in the fissile core of an atomic bomb. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful.

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The IAEA report also said that extensive Iranian activity at the Parchin military base, where the agency suspects Tehran conducted past nuclear weapons research, had "significantly hampered" inspectors' ability to inspect the site.

IAEA head Yukiya Amano told the 35-nation board on Monday that Iran had to allow access to Parchin "without further delay" and that a failure in a string of meetings with Iran was "frustrating."

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