Iran's Atomic Program

"A wait-and-see approach is not an option," Britain, France and Germany told governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday, Nov. 22.

The statement came in response to the latest reports on Iran's nuclear program at the IAEA's end of year meeting in Vienna. At the meeting, IAEA director general Mohamed ElBaradei said the agency was still unable to confirm that Iran's nuclear drive is entirely peaceful, despite increased cooperation from the Iranian government in key areas.

The IAEA "has so far not been able to verify some important aspects of Iran's nuclear program," ElBaradei said.

The statement by the "EU-3" said this was "unacceptable." "We are interested at least as much in the present and future [of Iran's program] as the past," it said.

Suspician traces of uranium

The IAEA wants credible explanations for traces of highly enriched -- or bomb-grade -- uranium that inspectors found at research sites, and intelligence on links between uranium processing, explosives tests and a missile warhead design.

The EU and the United States fear Iran is secretly trying to build atom bombs, and are pushing for the UN Security Council to impose further sanction on Iran, which claims it only wants electricity from uranium enrichment.

Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the IAEA, told reporters the agency's report showed the Iranian goverment of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been truthful about its nuclear course and warned against further sanctions.

"We will continue the mood of cooperation provided that ... peace-loving countries prevent the United States or others from making noise and creating problems and jeopardizing this constructive approach by any measure in the UN Security Council," he said.

"We recognize Iran has taken some steps in the right direction but we are disappointed that cooperation is of a partial and reactive nature," the EU-3 said. "So, all in all, the results are not encouraging."

For his part, Iran ambassador Soltanieh warned that any talk of possible sanctions would be counterproductive.

Both Russia and China, two of the UN Security Council's five permanent members, have blocked previous calls for tougher sections, saying they were counterproductive.

Current sanctions, imposed in March 2007 and December 2006, ban the supply of nuclear-related technology and materials, block Iranian arms exports, and freeze the assets of individuals and companies involved in Iran's nuclear and missile programs.

Iran to meet with EU

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said on Thursday he would meet EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana next Friday.

Jalili said he was optimistic about the upcoming talks but indicated there was no chance of Iran giving in on the question of enrichment -- the key demand of the European Union and the UN Security Council.

"I am optimistic about the negotiations with Solana. We have a positive view about negotiations and while respecting our duties we say that pressure will not make us renounce our rights," said Jalili.

Solana said on Thursday creating international nuclear fuel production sites under multinational supervision could ease the standoff. "Only a multilateral solution can make it possible to end this crisis," he told a conference on European policy.

Solana must report the outcome of his efforts to the UN Security Council on Nov. 30.