(AFP) – May 26, 2008

VIENNA (AFP) — Iran continues to defy UN demands to suspend uranium enrichment and has yet to disprove allegations that it was pursuing nuclear power for military use, the UN atomic watchdog said on Monday.

In a confidential new report on Tehran's controversial atomic drive, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) complained that Iran had made little real progress on one of the most important issues still outstanding, the so-called "alleged studies".

The studies allegedly carried out by Iran suggest it may have been trying to develop a nuclear warhead and also involve a process of uranium conversion, high explosives testing and a missile re-entry vehicle.

Iran has repeatedly dismissed reports that it conducted such studies as "baseless" and says the intelligence they are based on was "forged".

The IAEA insists, however, that Iran must actively disprove the allegations if it wants to convince the international community that its nuclear drive is purely peaceful.

"Substantive explanations are required from Iran to support its statements on the alleged studies and on other information with a possible military dimension," the report insisted.

"The alleged studies... remain a matter of serious concern. Clarification of these is critical to an assessment of the nature of Iran's past and present nuclear programme.

The IAEA "is of the view that Iran may have additional information, in particular on high explosives testing and missile-related activities, which could shed more light on the nature of these alleged studies and which Iran should share with the agency," the report said.

At the same time, the IAEA found that Iran is still refusing to suspend uranium enrichment, the process that can be used to make the fissile material for an atomic bomb, despite three rounds of UN sanctions.

"Contrary to the decisions of the (UN) Security Council, Iran has not suspended its enrichment related activities," the IAEA complained.

In all, Iran was operating about 3,500 uranium-enriching centrifuges at its main nuclear site in Natanz, the report said.

Tehran has told the IAEA it hopes to have some 6,000 centrifuges up and running by the end of the summer, a target which agency experts have no reason to doubt, a senior official close to the Vienna-based watchdog said.

US and European officials said the report showed that Iran was continuing to stonewall the agency's long-running investigation into the true nature of its atomic drive.

"The report shows in great detail how much Iran needs to explain, and how little it has," said the US ambassador to the IAEA, Gregory Schulte.

"It's disappointing, although perhaps not surprising, given Iran's long history of evasiveness over the real purpose of its nuclear programme," said an EU diplomat.

Iranian ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh insisted that Iran had answered all outstanding questions and said it would continue enrichment for peaceful purposes.

"We have given all the explanations needed as far as we are concerned," Soltanieh told AFP by telephone, calling the IAEA report "a vindication and reiteration of the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear activities."

He added: "We will continue enrichment, while not suspending our cooperation with the IAEA."

The report is to be discussed by the IAEA's board of governors at its meeting on June 2-6.

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