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Nuclear watchdog checks in on Iran(UPI Top Stories Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)The chief of the United Nations' nuclear regulatory agency said that his brief visit to Iran failed to convince Baghdad to halt its nuclear program. But Mohamed ElBaradei said Thursday that Iranian officials have agreed to continue negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency and he said he remains hopeful of progress in the next few weeks, the BBC reported. After meeting with Ali Larijani, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, ElBaradei said inspectors have taken samples for analysis to find out how far Iran's nuclear enrichment has gone. Larijani said that the IAEA should not demand complete suspension of the Iranian nuclear program. Before ElBaradei's arrival, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke defiantly of Iran's right to have a nuclear program, the official IRNA news agency reported. Our answer to those who are angry about Iran obtaining the full nuclear cycle is one phrase -- we say: Be angry and die of this anger, Ahmadinejad said. ElBaradei is to report to the U.N. Security Council at the end of this month on whether Tehran is complying with its demand to stop all enrichment activity by April 28 or face possible sanctions. |