WORLD / Middle East
ElBaradei: Iran not an immediate nuclear threat
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-05-31 09:08
Iran does not pose an immediate nuclear threat and the world must act
cautiously to avoid repeating mistakes made with Iraq and North Korea,
the head of the U.N, nuclear watchdog agency said on Tuesday.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed El
Baradei briefs the media during a board of governors meeting in Vienna's
U.N. headquarters February 2, 2006. Iran does not pose an immediate
nuclear threat and the world must act cautiously to avoid repeating
mistakes made with Iraq and North Korea, ElBaradei said on
Tuesday.[Reuters]
Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency,
said the world shouldn't "jump the gun" with erroneous information as he
said the U.S.-led coalition did in Iraq in 2003, nor should it push the
country into retaliation as international sanctions did in North Korea.
"Our assessment is that there is no immediate threat," the winner of the
2005 Nobel Peace Prize told a forum organized by the Monterey Institute
of International Studies south of San Francisco. "We still have lots of
time to investigate."
"You look around in the Middle East right now and it's a total mess," he
said. "You can not add oil to that fire."
The recent violent history in Iraq bears an important lesson for
diplomacy with neighboring Iran, the diplomat said. "We should not jump
the gun. We should be very careful about assessing the information
available to us," he said.
The Bush administration led a coalition into Iraq in 2003 saying
President Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction. No
such weapons were found.
"I ask myself every day if that's the way we want to go in getting rid of
every single dictator," ElBaradei said.
While it was unclear whether Iran ultimately intended to redirect its
development of nuclear power into a weapons system, it was clear there
was no danger of that right now, he said.
The five U.N. Security Council permanent powers and Germany, trying to
curb Tehran's nuclear program, are planning to meet in Vienna on Thursday
to try to finalize a package of incentives for Iran to halt uranium
enrichment along with penalties if it keeps defying international
pressure.
ElBaradei said he believed a majority in the Iranian leadership was still
interested in a negotiated solution and normal relations with the world.
The United States is pressing for tough U.N. sanctions if Iran does not
comply.
"It would be terrible" to try to strengthen sanctions, which could force
Iran to retaliate, he said.
"We have learned some lessons from North Korea," he said. "When you push
a country into a corner, you are giving the driver's seat to the
hard-liners there."
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