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IAEA Team Begins Routine Inspection Of Iraq's Nuclear Facilities
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| Andrzej Pietruszewski, head of the seven member International Atomic Energy Agency shortly after arriving in Baghdad |
BAGHDAD, Jan 26 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Saturday began a routine inspection of Iraqi nuclear facilities under the international Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), signed by Iraq in 1972, an Iraqi source said.
The seven-member team, headed by Polish national Anrzey Pietruzewiski, started at a site close to Baghdad, the source said, without giving details, reported AFP.
The IAEA made a similar visit in January 2001 to inspect Iraqi nuclear installations under the NPT. It found that the country's uranium stocks were being kept under seal and had not been touched.
But the agency reported last June it was unable to give assurances that Iraq or North Korea were respecting their obligations under the treaty.
U.N. arms experts worked in the aftermath of Baghdad's defeat in the 1991 Gulf War over Kuwait to dismantle Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weaponry.
U.S. President George W. Bush warned Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on January 16 that he would "deal with him at the appropriate time" unless he allowed U.N. weapons inspectors back into the country.
The arms inspectors were evacuated in December 1998 on the eve of a U.S.-British air war on Iraq, which has vowed never to allow their return.
U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control John Bolton accused Iraq and North Korea Thursday of trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
"Countries such as North Korea and Iraq must cease their violations of the NPT and allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to do its work," Bolton told the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
"Further, I caution those who think that they can pursue nuclear weapons without detection: the United States and its allies will prove you wrong," he said.
However later on Friday, Iraq accused the United States of adopting a policy of double standards over armaments, rejecting Washington's claims.
The latest U.S. allegation "confirms our grievances about (Washington's) selectivity and double standards," said Samir Khayri, Iraq's representative at the United Nations in Geneva, quoted by the official Iraqi News Agency (INA).
"The U.S. representative accused Iraq ... but did not refer to the Zionist entity (Israel), whose nuclear arsenal threatens security and stability in the Middle East," Khayri retorted.
"Why doesn't the United States ask (Israel) to adhere to the NPT and open its nuclear installations to international inspection?" he asked.
Iraq, on the other hand, has opened its installations to the IAEA, Khayri said.
But the IAEA has made clear it is only a "limited" mission which will not be able to determine whether Iraq may be engaged in a secret nuclear weapons programme.
Israel which has refused to sign the NPT, reportedly stockpiles over 200 nuclear warheads. It destroyed Iraq's French built OSIRAQ nuclear facility in 1981.
But the Iraqi paper, Al Thawra rejected the possibility that such weapons may be developed under the sanctions.
"How is it possible to possess the means to develop such weapons under siege and surveillance for more than 11 years?" the al-Thawra daily, mouthpiece of the ruling Baath party, asked recently, reported the BBC.
The Secretary General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa - who met Saddam Hussein last week - said the Iraqi leader had a "very important" initiative" for both the United Nations and Arab states. So far, he has revealed no details, the BBC said.
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