IAEA cancels meeting for more talks on Iran

The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) 35-nation board of governors is expected to meet again on Thursday.

"It's off," IAEA spokesman Peter Rickwood said about the day's session of the board, which had begun meeting Tuesday, adding that the diplomats "just need more time."

The European Union, which has been negotiating with Iran on obtaining guarantees that the Iranians are not making nuclear weapons, is trying to win approval for a draft resolution calling on Iran to reverse its decision to push ahead with nuclear fuel work.

A diplomat close to the IAEA said non-aligned nations on the board "do not want a resolution on Iran", preferring instead the weaker option of a simple statement from the board's chairman. Iran is not on the board but is a non-aligned country.

But, the diplomat said, Western countries "feel the credibility of the board is at stake because Iran has ignored so many of the board's resolutions," including ones last September and November calling on Iran not to make nuclear fuel, which powers civilian reactors but can also be used to make atom bombs.

Iran on Monday lifted the suspension of nuclear work it had honoured since November in order to get talks with the EU started. It began uranium conversion at a facility in Isfahan and Wednesday was to widen this by breaking IAEA seals at the site, according to reports from Tehran.

In Tehran, Iran said yesterday the UN nuclear watchdog has authorised it to remove seals placed on its Isfahan uranium conversion plant, paving the way for a full resumption of the sensitive fuel cycle work there.