South Africa sees progress in Iran nuclear dispute

By Paul Simao

PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africa said on Thursday a report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency showed "increasing confidence" that Iran did not intend to use its nuclear program for military purposes.

But it added that further oversight by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was needed to verify that Iran was not building atomic weapons as feared by the United States, Britain and France.

Tehran insists that its uranium enrichment program, which can produce fuel for nuclear power plants or atomic weapons, is geared solely to generating electricity and boosting its oil exports.

In a conference call with reporters in Pretoria, South Africa's ambassador to the IAEA said the agency's report last week showed that Iran was cooperating on the matter and did not appear to have militarized its nuclear program.

"There is increasing confidence in the Iranian (enrichment) program," Abdul Minty said in a call from Oslo. "They (IAEA) have not found a single item that has been lost or diverted to military operations."

SERIOUS CONCERN

But he conceded that declassified Western intelligence indicating Iran conducted high-explosives tests and design work on a missile warhead as part of a covert nuclear arms program was a serious concern that needed to be addressed by Tehran.

The IAEA said Iran had not properly responded to the allegation. Iran's government has dismissed the intelligence as false and said it has answered all of the IAEA questions about its nuclear program.