The New York Times wrote: The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report on Thursday that Iran had made new but incomplete disclosures about its past nuclear activities, missing a critical deadline under an agreement with the agency and virtually assuring a new push by the United States to impose stricter international sanctions.
In the report, the agency confirmed for the first time that Iran had reached the major milestone of 3,000 operating centrifuges, a tenfold increase from just a year ago. In theory, that means that it could produce enough uranium to make a nuclear weapon within a year to 18 months.
The report made clear that even while providing some answers, Iran has continued to shield many aspects of its nuclear program. Iran’s “cooperation has been reactive rather than proactive,” the report said, adding that because of restrictions Iran has placed on inspectors the agency’s understanding of the full scope of Iran’s nuclear program is “diminishing.”
The report clearly acknowledges that Iran has ignored for more than a year the Security Council’s demand that it stop enriching uranium.
The report added : At the United Nations , Zalmay Khalilzad , the American ambassador, said the United States would move for a new Council resolution imposing additional sanctions on Tehran. Asked about statements this week from China, a veto-bearing member of the Council, reiterating its opposition to sanctions, Mr. Khalilzad said China must understand that the only way to make diplomacy work in Iran was by forceful Council action. “In recent days, there has been a dragging of the feet on the part of the Chinese,” he said. “But I don’t think the Chinese would want to take responsibility for the failure of diplomacy.”
The confirmation that Iran has 3,000 operational centrifuges suggests that it is quickly moving to a position where it could, if it wanted to, produce a bomb. Iran has denied that it seeks a nuclear weapon.
In Washington, the Institute for Science and International Security, a private group that tracks nuclear issues, said the report “shows the centrifuge issue is not closed.” One major concern centers on a new generation of centrifuges that Mr. Ahmadinejad last year claimed Iran was developing. American officials and inspectors fear the new generation of centrifuges could speed Iran’s path to developing a nuclear weapon.
The report also faulted Iran for continuing to deny inspectors broad access to its nuclear facilities and manufacturing sites under a voluntary protocol that Iran has suspended. The agency’s limited access means that it cannot say with certainty that Iran does not have a secret weapons-related uranium enrichment program.