Iran may restrict cooperation with IAEA

Tehran, Oct 1 (IANS) Iran may restrict its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog in opening its nuclear facilities to inspection, official IRNA news agency reported Wednesday quoting a senior member of parliament.

Mousa Ghorbani told the news agency during a recess of the ongoing house session that the recent reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Chief Mohamed ElBaradei and the UN Security Council resolution indicate that 'the West lacks good-will towards Iran despite the fact that the country has had very extensive cooperation with the IAEA'.

The IAEA said late August Iran had failed to answer its queries convincingly that its nuclear programme has no military dimension.

At a meeting last week with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed repeated US accusations that Tehran had been striving to develop nuclear weapons.

Closely following the meeting, the UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Saturday reiterating demands that Iran halt uranium enrichment. The resolution did not impose any new sanctions against the Islamic republic.

'Unfortunately, the officials of those bodies who are under pressure of the US have provided the West with various excuses to this effect, therefore under such circumstances continuation of cooperation with IAEA beyond legal framework is of no use,' Ghorbani said.

'To show its good-will, Iran provided the IAEA inspectors with full access to its nuclear sites and this trend is expected to be revised because it seems that IAEA has turned into a political puppet in the hands of the US and UK. So Iranian MPs call for revision of such cooperation,' he said.