VIENNA, September 9 (Itar-Tass) - The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday will gather for a regular session at its Vienna headquarters.
The experts are again expected to focus on the Iranian nuclear programme. In addition, the leadership of the agency will present a report on the level of safety of nuclear facilities in Syria in the face of a possible military strike against the country.
The traditional item on the agenda over the recent years is the quarterly report of the IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano on the progress of Iran’s nuclear programme.
The document, distributed at the end of August among the Agency’s member states that Itar-Tass has received, turns out to have a quieter tone than before. According to a diplomatic source, “it stated, in particular, that Iran continued to install centrifuges for uranium enrichment, bringing their number up to 15 thousand units, but the nuclear fuel reserves growth has slowed down, and their volumes do not exceed the set “red lines.”
“The report is drafted in a calm tone, the authors of the document tried to avoid sharp assessments in order not to create further tensions in the Agency’s relations with official Tehran,” the source said. According to him, the IAEA expects the first steps on the part of Iran after the election of a new president. That is why the “six” of the countries mediators on the settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue this time has no plans to make a joint statement and a resolution on Iran, which they traditionally prepare for each meeting of the Board of Governors. “This decision was taken in order not to create additional pressure on Iran after the change of the negotiating teams,” he explained.
According to him, the Agency’ leadership also is preparing a report on the security of nuclear facilities in Syria in connection with a possible military intervention in the country. Russian specialists have expressed special concern over this matter. So, in early September, the Russian Foreign Ministry had warned that hitting of the sensitive from the point of view of nuclear safety facilities in Syria would cause catastrophic consequences. After that, Russia’s representative to the IAEA Vladimir Voronkov sent to the Agency’s management a formal request to analyse the risks for Syria’s nuclear power industry facilities.