The IAEA report was unusually blunt
There has been an international outcry after the IAEA, the UN atomic watchdog, expressed concerns Iran may currently be working on nuclear weapons.
Germany said the report “confirms our great concerns”, while the US warned Iran it faces consequences if it fails to meet international responsibilities.
Moscow said Iran must co-operate more actively with the IAEA to convince the world its atomic programme is peaceful.
Iran’s supreme leader denounced the accusations as “baseless”.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: “Our religious beliefs bar us from using such weapons… We do not believe in atomic weapons and are not seeking that.”
Iran has always maintained that its nuclear programme is peaceful.
The US and other Western nations fear it is enriching uranium for nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, Iran launched its first domestically-built destroyer, reportedly equipped with sophisticated radar, anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles as well as torpedoes and naval guns.
Reports said the new 1,500-tonne guided missile destroyer, Jamaran, would be deployed in the Gulf.
‘Declining co-operation’
According to the unusually blunt report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran’s level of co-operation with the agency was decreasing.
Germany said Iran’s failure to comply with UN wishes over its nuclear programme was forcing the international community to pursue further sanctions against Tehran.
URANIUM ENRICHMENT
BBC graphic
Iran says it is increasing uranium enrichment from 3.5% needed for commercial nuclear reactors
Iran says it has started enriching to 20%, needed for a research reactor near Tehran
Weapons-grade uranium is at least 90% enriched
Experts say achieving 20% is a key step towards weapons grade
In depth: Nuclear fuel cycle
Q&A: Iran nuclear issue
“The persistent defiance… of United Nations resolutions and Tehran’s continuation of a dangerous nuclear policy are forcing the international community to pursue further comprehensive sanctions,” said a government spokesman
US officials said that while the report showed Iran had technical difficulties, its IAEA co-operation was declining.
Senior administration officials in Washington said Iran’s pattern of behaviour was “disturbing”.
One official said Iran’s statements that its nuclear programme was peaceful were becoming less credible, adding that it was becoming clear this was a country seeking nuclear weapons.
A senior Obama administration official said the report shows that there were “serious technical difficulties that are slowing down the nuclear clock”.
The US is keen for the UN Security Council to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Iran.
“We always said that if Iran failed to live up to those international obligations, that there would be consequences,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, said: “Tehran must be more active in its co-operation with the IAEA and widen it.”
In response to the report, Tehran said it “confirmed Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities and the country’s non-deviation towards military purposes,” according to the state news agency, Irna.
New director
The IAEA report will be discussed by the agency’s 35-country board at a meeting between 1-5 March.
An Iranian ground-to-ground Sajil missile in November 2008
Iran has denied it intends to make a nuclear weapon
This is the first IAEA report on Iran compiled under its new director-general, Yukiya Amano.
The report says its information was “consistent and credible in terms of the technical detail, the timeframe in which the activities were conducted and the people and organisations involved”.
The report said: “Altogether this raises concerns about the possible existence in Iran of past or current undisclosed activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile.”
The report says it is vital Iran co-operates with IAEA investigators “without further delay” as its resistance added to concerns “about possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear programme”.
Uranium enrichment
The IAEA report contradicts a US intelligence report from 2007 that stated Iran had stopped its nuclear research in 2003 and probably not resumed it.
US officials declined to comment on whether the latest IAEA report makes the US report even more out of step with current thinking.
One official said he was waiting for the US intelligence community to put out a new report.
The report also confirmed that Iran had begun enriching uranium to higher 20% levels.
Until now, Iran has produced uranium enriched to 3.5% for power stations, but it says it needs the more highly enriched uranium for a reactor producing medical isotopes.
Western powers fear Iran is heading towards enriching uranium to 90% – to produce a nuclear weapon.
Iran says it is increasing uranium enrichment from 3.5% needed for commercial nuclear reactors
Iran says it has started enriching to 20%, needed for a research reactor near Tehran
Weapons-grade uranium is at least 90% enriched
Experts say achieving 20% is a key step towards weapons grade
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