IAEA seeks Iran mission

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Thursday he wanted to send a special mission to Iran, following the release last week of a report by his agency concluding that Tehran;s nuclear programme showed evidence of efforts to construct and possibly deliver a nuclear weapon, news agencies reported. Yukiya Amano, head of the UN nuclear watchdog, was speaking as the body began a two-day meeting to consider issues including the report, which was the first time the body made those assertions. Mr. Amano said he had written to a senior Iranian nuclear official to suggest the visit, Reuters reported. "I hope a suitable date can be agreed soon. It is essential that any such mission should be well planned and that it should address the issues contained in my report," Mr. Amano told the  IAEA.'s 35-member board of governors meeting at the agency's headquarters in Vienna. The report has divided the world powers seeking to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear program and has drawn a sharp response from Tehran. Analysts said Iran's leaders seemed worried that the report could deepen Iran's isolation, undermining its frequent claims that Tehran's nuclear program is energy for civilian use, not weapons. In remarks on Wednesday quoted by the state-run Press TV broadcaster, the Iranian foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, was quoted as saying Tehran would respond in a measured way and "send an analytical letter with logical and reasonable responses" to the meeting in Vienna.. When the report was released last week, France, Britain and Germany indicated that they would join the United States in seeking new ways to pressure Iran but Russia opposed new sanctions and China said it was noncommittal. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran lambasted the report, saying it had been orchestrated by Iran's enemies, principally the United States, which he said had dictated the report's findings. ''Why do you exploit the IAEA dignity in favour of the U.S. administration?'' Mr. Ahmadinejad asked rhetorically in a question directed at Yukiya Amano, the director general of the agency, who oversaw the production and content of the report. The dispute over Iran's nuclear programme has been sharpened in recent weeks by speculation that Israel may be contemplating a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. Officials and experts said Israel is hoping that the report will force the introduction of painful sanctions that would force Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment program. Israel's role in the sanctions debate is limited. At the same time, though, Israel seems to be playing a larger role in convincing Tehran and the West that if no drastic change occurs in the next few months, Israel might be pushed into military action.