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FACTBOX: Excerpts from U.N. atom watchdog report on Iran

VIENNA
Thu Aug 30, 2007 1:56pm EDT

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran's uranium enrichment program is running well below capacity, far short of producing nuclear fuel in significant amounts, according to a confidential U.N. nuclear watchdog report obtained by Reuters on Thursday.

World

Following are excerpts from the report, sent to the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors and U.N. Security Council members.

ENRICHMENT-RELATED ACTIVITIES

"Since February 2007, Iran has fed approximately 690 kg of UF6 (uranium gas) into cascades at the Fuel Enrichment Plant, which is well below the expected quantity for a facility of this design. While Iran has stated that it has reached enrichment levels up to 4.8 percent ..., the highest level measured from environmental samples taken so far by the Agency from cascade components and related equipment is 3.7 percent.

SECRET PLUTONIUM EXPERIMENTS AT TEHRAN RESEARCH REACTOR

The IAEA "considers this issue as resolved" after Iran provided data that matched samples taken by inspectors and their findings on quantities and types of material involved in the work at Tehran's Research Reactor (TRR). Particles of highly enriched (bomb-grade) uranium discovered at a waste storage facility were traced to leaks from TRR fuel assemblies.

ACQUISITION OF P-1 and P-2 CENTRIFUGE TECHNOLOGY

Iran has pledged under the transparency plan to clear up this issue by November. For this, the IAEA has asked for documentation and clarification by certain officials about covert black-market acquisitions in the 1980s and 1990s.

OTHER CONTAMINATION OF HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM (HEU)

The IAEA wants to take more samples from equipment procured by Tehran's Physics Research Centre to compare with earlier findings of HEU, and to speak to its ex-head. Iran has pledged to resolve the issue after the centrifuge matter is settled.

URANIUM "BOMB MANUAL" DOCUMENT

IAEA investigators want a copy of a 15-page black-market document describing how to machine enriched uranium metal into hemisphere shapes for the core of atom bombs. Iran has agreed to cooperate after prolonged stonewalling.

"GREEN SALT" PROJECT

Iran has for the first time agreed to examine intelligence in the IAEA's possession pointing to administrative links between uranium ore processing, high explosives tests and the design of a missile re-entry vehicle.

SUMMARY

"The (transparency) work plan is a significant step forward (towards) reconstructing the history of Iran's nuclear program Confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of (the) ... program requires that the Agency be able to provide assurances not only regarding declared nuclear material, but, equally important, the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities, through the implementation of the Additional Protocol.



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