IAEA's ElBaradei to visit Iran this week

By Mark Heinrich

VIENNA (Reuters) - International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei will pay a rare visit to Iran this week to push it into speeding up steps to defuse an international standoff over its nuclear program.

ElBaradei's trip, at the invitation of the Islamic Republic, follows diplomatic reports Iran seemed to be dragging its feet in resolving remaining questions in the U.N. watchdog agency's inquiry into its nuclear activity.

Tensions between Iran and the West were underlined on Monday when the United States said five Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats harassed and provoked three U.S. Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route off the Iranian coast, during the weekend.

"The Director-General will visit Tehran on Friday and Saturday ... and will meet with a number of high officials," IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said in an emailed statement.

"(ElBaradei) hopes that the visit will develop ways and means to enhance and accelerate implementation of (nuclear) safeguards in Iran, with a view of resolving all remaining outstanding issues and enabling the agency to provide assurance about Iran's past and present nuclear activities," she said.

Iran said on December 30 its first atomic power plant would start operating in mid-2008, despite U.N. sanctions meant to make it stop nuclear activity over suspicions this is ultimately aimed at yielding atom bombs, not electricity as it maintains.

A U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) last month said Iran shelved a covert nuclear arms drive in 2003, undercutting the White House stance that Tehran was actively seeking a bomb and U.S.-led Western arguments for intensifying U.N. sanctions.

But President George W. Bush, who begins a Middle East trip on Wednesday, has said he still views Iran as a danger.

SLOW PROCESS

The IAEA did not elaborate on why ElBaradei was going to Tehran now. He had considered a trip in November but put if off when key officials were not available for talks.

Some Western diplomats accredited to the Vienna-based IAEA said two weeks ago Iran appeared to be slowing cooperation with IAEA investigators in the wake of the NIE's findings.

Some diplomats said he might want to tell Tehran that the NIE did not free it of obligations to come clean on past nuclear work hidden from inspectors and suspend the current program.

"Our impression is that Iran thinks it is in a very strong position due to the NIE," said a European diplomat, who like others asked for anonymity due to political sensitivities.

"It may mean that the Iranians are not being as forthcoming for the IAEA investigation, doing the contrary of accelerating cooperation (and widening access for inspectors) as ElBaradei has called for," he told Reuters.

"He may want to tell Iran, 'This is your last chance, don't make me look like an idiot,' to light a fire under their feet," said another Western diplomat. "But it doesn't look as if he'll be able to proclaim the completion of (the transparency plan)."