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  Wednesday  August 27  2003    02: 54 AM

iran

Iran faces showdown on nuclear secrets

In a report due out today that is likely to trigger a showdown about sanctions, the UN's nuclear watchdog has demanded that Iran urgently explain evidence that it may have secretly enriched uranium.
[...]

The report, delivered to IAEA member states yesterday and expected to be made public today, is likely to be taken by Washington as backing its argument that Iran should be declared in violation of its non-proliferation obligations and subjected to sanctions.
[...]

Despite lobbying by the EU and Russia, Iran has refused to sign the additional protocol to the non-proliferation treaty. Drawn up after the 1991 Gulf war, the protocol would require it to allow short-notice inspections of declared and undeclared sites.

Tehran's representative to the IAEA, Ali Akbar Salehi, said his country would consider signing the additional protocol if concerns about "sovereignty" were clarified.
[...]

Citing Iraq's experience, Iran's conservative clerical leadership has expressed concern that the US could use the short-notice inspections to carry out espionage.
[more]

I wonder why the UN isn't concerned with another secret nuclear program — the Israeli's. You know, the one that has built 200 to 400 nuclear weapons that can be delivered to any location on this planet. Maybe because the US told the UN not to be concerned?