Director General Yukiya Amano

“The situation surrounding the agency is stormy now. We have a lot of difficult challenges, but I would like to do my best,” Director General Yukiya Amano said at a meeting with staff at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna.

“I would like to address the global issues that include non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, enhancing nuclear security, addressing the energy need, providing good health care, and water management, among others.

“I will try to be an impartial, reliable, and professional Director General,” added the career diplomat and lawyer from Japan, who is now the fifth person to head the IAEA since it was founded in 1957.

Mr. Amano, who has a lengthy record of working on disarmament and non-proliferation issues, succeeded Mohamed ElBaradei, who headed the agency between 1998 and this year.

IAEA Director General Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei

Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, who concludes his term at the end of this month, told a meeting of the Board of Governors in Vienna that the Agency has continued to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran.

“However, there has been no movement on remaining issues of concern which need to be clarified for the Agency to verify the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme,” he stated, noting that it is now over a year since the Agency was last able to engage Iran about outstanding issues.

“We have effectively reached a dead end, unless Iran engages fully with us,” he said in a wide-ranging address – his last to the Board – that also touched on Syria, and issues of technicial cooperation, nuclear energy and nuclear security.

Iran has stated that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, but some other countries contend it is driven by military ambitions. The issue has been of international concern since the discovery in 2003 that the country had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Mr. ElBaradei also described the proposed agreement to provide fuel for a research reactor in Tehran which produces medical radioisotopes for therapeutic and diagnostic procedures as a unique opportunity to address a humanitarian need and create space for negotiations.

Iran has informed the IAEA chief that it is considering the proposal, which was put forward in October during talks held at the IAEA, “in depth and in a favourable light” but needed more time to provide a response. The other three parties to the talks – France, Russia and the United States – have all indicated their approval of the agreement.

“I am disappointed that Iran has not so far agreed to the original proposal or the alternative modalities, both of which I believe are balanced and fair and would greatly help to alleviate the concerns relating to Iran's nuclear programme,” stated Mr. ElBaradei.

“This opportunity should be seized and it would be highly regrettable if it was missed,” he added.

Mr. ElBaradei has headed the IAEA since 1998, and will be succeeded by Yukiya Amano, a Japanese diplomat with a lengthy record of working on disarmament and non-proliferation issues.

Martin Nesirky

Mr. Nesirky is currently with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, where he has served for more than three years as Spokesperson and Head of Press and Public Information.

He also served for more than two decades as an international correspondent and editor for Reuters. He covered a number of issues affecting international peace and security, including the fall of the Berlin Wall, events in the Balkans and nuclear non-proliferation issues.

His tenure with Reuters included a stint as the Moscow Bureau Chief with responsibility for coverage of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and as a senior editor in London handling global political news stories, including the Middle East and Africa. He has been posted in Berlin, The Hague, and Seoul.

Mr. Nesirky succeeds Michele Montas of Haiti who is retiring from the Organization on 30 November. “The Secretary-General is grateful to Ms. Montas for her dedication and service as his Spokesperson since the beginning of his term on 1 January 2007,” read a note issued by Mr. Ban’s office.

Spent nuclear fuel

The agreement, put forward nearly two weeks ago during talks at the Vienna headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), concerns fuel for use at a research reactor in Tehran which produces medical radioisotopes for therapeutic and diagnostic procedures.

Last week Iran informed IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei that it is “considering the proposal in depth and in a favourable light,” but needed more time to provide a response. The other three parties to the talks – France, Russia and the United States – have all indicated their approval of the agreement.

“Addressing the concerns of the international community about Iran’s future intentions is primarily a matter of confidence-building, which can only be achieved through dialogue,” Mr. ElBaradei said in his final address to the UN General Assembly as head of the IAEA.

“I therefore urge Iran to be as forthcoming as possible in responding soon to my recent proposal, based on the initiative of the US, Russia and France, which aimed to engage Iran in a series of measures that could build confidence and trust and open the way for comprehensive and substantive dialogue between Iran and the international community,” he stated.

He added that trust and confidence-building are an incremental process that requires focusing on the big picture and a willingness to take risks for peace.

Iran has stated that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, but some other countries contend it is driven by military ambitions. The issue has been of international concern since the discovery in 2003 that the country had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

“As a result of difficult and painstaking work, the agency has acquired a better understanding of Iran’s civil nuclear programme,” said the Director General.

“Nevertheless, a number of questions and allegations relevant to the nature of that programme are still outstanding and need to be clarified by Iran through transparency and cooperation with the agency.”

Mr. ElBaradei, who has headed the IAEA since 1998, also highlighted the case of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), which the agency reported to the Security Council 16 years ago for non-compliance with its non-proliferation obligations. Since that time, he said, the country has moved from the likely possession of undeclared plutonium to acquiring nuclear weapons.

“The on-again, off-again nature of the dialogue between the DPRK and the international community has stymied the resolution of this issue,” he stated.

In addition, he lamented the “tragic war” that was launched in Iraq “on the basis of a false pretext, without authorization from the Security Council, and despite the agency and the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) having found no evidence that Iraq had revived its nuclear weapons programme or programmes involving other weapons of mass destruction.

“It gives me no consolation that the agency’s findings were subsequently vindicated,” he said.

In July, the IAEA’s Board of Governors chose Yukiya Amano, a Japanese diplomat with a lengthy record of working on disarmament and non-proliferation issues, to succeed Mr. ElBaradei when he steps down at the end of November.

Spent nuclear fuel

Last week, the country asked for more time to consider the proposal on the provision of fuel for the site in Iran’s capital, Tehran, which, among other activities, produces medical radioisotopes for therapeutic and diagnostic procedures.

The agreement was announced at the end of a three-day meeting – also attended by representatives from France, Russia and the United States – at IAEA headquarters in Vienna on 21 October.

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei had given the nations involved until last Friday to approve the proposal, but Iran asked for more time to consider the draft while the three other parties signalled their endorsement.

Mr. ElBaradei is consulting with the Iranian Government and others “with the hope that agreement on his proposal can be reached soon,” according to an IAEA press release.

Last week, he characterized the draft text as a “balanced approach on how to move forward,” adding that its endorsement by all four countries would be a “very important confidence-building measure that can defuse the crisis that has been going on for a number of years and open space for negotiations.”

The IAEA chief also voiced hope that if approved, the agreement will “open the way for a complete normalization of relations between Iran and the international community.”

Over the weekend, IAEA inspectors visited a recently-disclosed uranium enrichment facility in the Iranian city of Qom, southwest of Tehran, whose existence and construction the agency was informed of late last month.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said the facility violates Security Council resolutions because of the delay in its disclosure and has repeated his call for Iran to implement Council resolutions and cooperate with the IAEA on resolving outstanding concerns regarding its nuclear programme.

Iran has stated that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, but some other countries contend it is driven by military ambitions. The issue has been of international concern since the discovery in 2003 that the country had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).