VIENNA, January 24, 5:45 /ITAR-TASS/. The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gathers here on Friday for an extraordinary session at an urgent request of IAEA Secretary-General Yukiya Amano.
Representatives of the 35 member-countries of the Board are to approve a plan of measures to verify Iran's nuclear programme. The plan was prepared by the IAEA Secretariat on the strength of the agreement reached in Geneva between Tehran and the Sextet (five UN Permanent Members of the UN Security Councia and Germany).
"The IAEA's own action plan has been already prepared, and it is expected to win approval," a source close to the IAEA Secretariat told Itar-Tass. The plan is based on the political agreement reached in Geneva on November 24 and constitutes a list of pracical steps which must be become the basis for experts' action plan.
That the work would require an additional financing was stated by the IAEA way back at the end of last year. However, an exact amount of financial expenditure was determined by the IAEA only in mid-January. Diplomatic sources told Itar-Tass earlier that this refers to $5-6 million.
"Really, the countries will be requested to make appropriate contributions for the conduct of verification. Several millions of US dollars will be required additionally," a staff member of the IAEA Secretariat confirmd in an Itar-Tass interview. He said the sum of $6 million "conforms to reality". He also specified that the amount would suffice only for half a year. The IAEA may need additional resources for the other six months.
According to a diplomat close to the IAEA, "As far as financing is concerned, the Secretariat expects initiatives from the Sextet". "IAEA analysts expect that the issue will be settled, for it was precisely those countries that prepared a political decision to draw the IAEA into expanded verificatory activities," he pointed out, adding that the other members of the Board of Governors will be also requested to make donations.
In the process, Iran already began on January 20 to fulfill the obligations it had assumed in full compliance with the Geneva accords. This was confirmed by IAEA experts. On the whole, Tehran undertook to stop enrichment of uranium up to 20 percent, disengage the series of centrifuges for its production, and start to "dilute"
the produced amount of uranium enriched up to 20 percent down to 5 percent.
Besides, international experts must confirm that Iran does not use a half of the installed centrifuges at the facilities at Natanz and Fordo, including new-generation ones, and limit the manufacture of centrifuges to a number that is necessary for replacement of those running out of operation, and not to build up their stocks for six months.
Neither should Iran build be enrichent capacities and go beyond the scope of current nuclear research, energize a heavy-water reactor at Arak and charge fuel into it, and undertakes to suspend the production of such fuel. Besides, the IRI is not to build enterprises for reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, which results in a weapon-grade plutonium.