Iran Urges IAEA to Back Ban on Attacks Against Nuclear Sites

By Ali Sheikholeslami
August 13, 2009
Bloomberg
Original Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601104&sid=a8P6Z4TkPC1g#

Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Iran recommended the International Atomic Energy Agency support a ban on military operations or threats of such action against nuclear facilities.

Aliasghar Soltanieh, Iran s ambassador to the United Nations agency, asked Secretary-General Mohamed ElBaradei to include the proposal on the agenda for the IAEA s annual meeting next month, the state-run Fars news agency reported today.

Protecting the 400 atomic power plants and 300 reactors worldwide is of  utmost importance,  Fars cited Soltanieh as saying, adding that Iran has provided IAEA members with a document for the Sept. 14 meeting that outlines its justification for a ban on attacks. Iran made a similar proposal in 1990, he said.

Iran s nuclear work has prompted Israel to make plans for bombing atomic facilities in the Gulf nation, Israel s Ma ariv newspaper reported yesterday. The U.S. proposed a missile shield in Eastern Europe to defend against attacks by Iran and other states with rocket technology, a plan opposed by Russia.

Israeli forces bombed a Syrian site in September 2007 that U.S. intelligence officials suspected was a reactor project being built secretly with North Korean help. Syria has denied the accusation.

Iran is under three sets of UN sanctions for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can generate fuel for a nuclear power reactor or make a weapon. The government in Tehran denies allegations by the U.S. and some of its major allies that it seeks an atomic weapon, insisting the nuclear work is intended to generate electricity.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ali Sheikholeslami in London at alis2@bloomberg.net.