Iran is to begin work in June on building a heavy water reactor which could be used as part of a fuel cycle to produce bomb-grade plutonium, said diplomats in Vienna.
"Iran is to announce soon that it will be beginning work in June on a heavy water research reactor in Arak," 200 kilometres southwest of Tehran, a diplomat close to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told The AFP.
IAEA director general Mohamed ElBaradei returned to Vienna Wednesday from Tehran, where he had recieved a promise from the Iranian leadership to adhere to a timetable to finally answer charges it is trying secretly to develop nuclear weapons.
The reactor to be built at Arak would not be in violation of safeguards which the IAEA enforces under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the diplomat said. But he added it could send a "bad political signal" from Iran to the international community.
Iran has said the Arak reactor would be for research and the production of radioisotopes for medical and industrial use.
On Tuesday, Secretary for Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Hassan Rowhani said the recent agreements with ElBaradei indicated that the remaining issues with the IAEA would be settled in the next two months.
Talking to reporters following his meeting with Elbaradei, he said the next meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in June would be more positive for Iran than the previous one held in March.
Evaluating the process of the negotiations as positive, he voiced his hope that the final settlement of the case would occur in the near future.
On his meeting with Elbaradei, Rowhani said that some points and questions were put forward by the IAEA head during a three-hour meeting and a timetable was worked out as to how and when the issues would be considered.
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
