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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Iran nuclear crisis: UN warns process will 'take time' | Iran nuclear crisis: UN warns process will 'take time' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The head of the UN's nuclear agency, Yukiya Amano, has warned it will "take some time" before work can begin on verifying whether Iran is complying with a deal on its nuclear programme. | The head of the UN's nuclear agency, Yukiya Amano, has warned it will "take some time" before work can begin on verifying whether Iran is complying with a deal on its nuclear programme. |
| Iran agreed last week to curb some nuclear activities for six months in return for sanctions relief. | Iran agreed last week to curb some nuclear activities for six months in return for sanctions relief. |
| The deal requires increased UN inspections of Iran's nuclear sites including the Arak heavy water plant. | The deal requires increased UN inspections of Iran's nuclear sites including the Arak heavy water plant. |
| But diplomats said the UN might not be able to begin work there until January. | But diplomats said the UN might not be able to begin work there until January. |
| Under the international deal, Iran will receive some $7bn (£4.3bn) in sanctions relief while talks continue to find a more permanent agreement. | |
| The accord, reached in Geneva on Sunday with the US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany, has been generally welcomed. | The accord, reached in Geneva on Sunday with the US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany, has been generally welcomed. |
| But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called it a "historic mistake" and some US senators say it is too soft. | But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called it a "historic mistake" and some US senators say it is too soft. |
| 'Funding implications' | 'Funding implications' |
| The West has long suspected that Iran's uranium enrichment programme is geared towards making a weapon, but Tehran insists it only wants nuclear energy. | The West has long suspected that Iran's uranium enrichment programme is geared towards making a weapon, but Tehran insists it only wants nuclear energy. |
| Mr Amano said the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was looking into ways to implement the agreement. | Mr Amano said the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was looking into ways to implement the agreement. |
| He said he had received a letter from EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton which said that the IAEA would have an important role in verifying the nuclear-related measures agreed in Geneva, including significantly expanding its inspections of nuclear sites. | He said he had received a letter from EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton which said that the IAEA would have an important role in verifying the nuclear-related measures agreed in Geneva, including significantly expanding its inspections of nuclear sites. |
| "This will include the implications for funding and staffing," he said. | "This will include the implications for funding and staffing," he said. |
| "This analysis will take some time. I will consult the board as soon as possible when it has been completed." | "This analysis will take some time. I will consult the board as soon as possible when it has been completed." |
| Unnamed diplomats told the BBC that the IAEA might not be ready to begin its expanded inspections until January. | Unnamed diplomats told the BBC that the IAEA might not be ready to begin its expanded inspections until January. |
| However the BBC's Bethany Bell in Vienna says that the six-month interim period stipulated in the deal will not start until technical issues such as these are worked out. | However the BBC's Bethany Bell in Vienna says that the six-month interim period stipulated in the deal will not start until technical issues such as these are worked out. |
| Plutonium fears | Plutonium fears |
| Earlier on Thursday, as part of the deal, Iran invited Mr Amano to visit its Arak heavy water plant on 8 December. | |
| The purpose of the facility is to provide heavy water to help control the nuclear activity of fuel rods in the reactor, which is still under construction. | |
| Western powers fear the reactor could be used to make weapons-grade plutonium, but Iran says it will make medical isotopes. | Western powers fear the reactor could be used to make weapons-grade plutonium, but Iran says it will make medical isotopes. |
| Under Sunday's deal, Iran agreed not to commission the Arak reactor or transfer fuel or heavy water to the site. | Under Sunday's deal, Iran agreed not to commission the Arak reactor or transfer fuel or heavy water to the site. |
| The IAEA regularly visits a nearby research reactor site but has not been at the heavy water plant since August 2011 despite repeated requests. | |
| The visit is the first concrete step taken under the IAEA plan, a "joint statement on a framework for co-operation" signed with Iran on 11 November. | |
| Also on Thursday, Mr Amano said that satellite images of North Korea - another state whose nuclear activities have raised international alarm - indicated it was trying to restart a previously decommissioned nuclear reactor. | |
| The Yongbyon plant - widely believed to be capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium - was shut down in 2008 amid international talks, but North Korea announced in April that it would restart it. | |
| The IAEA has no access to the site, so Mr Amano said it was "not possible for us to conclusively determine whether the reactor has been restarted". |