"We have done nothing which would violate our commitments regarding the NPT," said Assefi

TEHRAN, June 6 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Iran refuted Friday, June 6, a report it had failed to comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards agreement, asserting it had "answers" to the agency’s criticism.

"We have done nothing which would violate our commitments regarding the NPT," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi told Agence France-Presse (AFP) over the phone, in reference to the Non-Nuclear Proliferation Treaty.

An IAEA report said, ahead of a meeting of the agency's board of governors, that Iran "failed to meet its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement."

The obligations include "reporting of nuclear material, the subsequent processing and use of that material and the declaration of facilities where the material was stored and processed."

The report, filed to member states ahead of an IAEA meeting June 16 in Vienna, said Tehran had begun to rectify the situation, and that "the process of verifying the correctness and completeness of the Iranian declarations is still ongoing."

Iran, a country dubbed by the U.S. as part of an "axis of evil" together with pre-war Iraq and North Korea, said it was seeking the technology that would enable it to use nuclear energy for peaceful applications and denied allegations of developing nuclear weapons.

Tehran has so far refused to sign agreements that would allow tougher international inspections of its nuclear facilities.

The report said IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei "has repeatedly encouraged Iran to conclude an Additional Protocol" authorizing more inspections beyond safeguards agreements which already mandate IAEA inspections under the NPT.

Tehran’s signing of the protocol "would therefore constitute a significant step forward," it added.

The U.S. is expected to closely read the report, as it heaped accusations on the Islamic Republic of developing weapons mass destruction under the guise of electricity-generating reactors.

 ‘Five Failures’

The report cited five "failures" in Iran involving nuclear inspections and the measures the country is taking to correct them.

The "quantities of nuclear material involved have not been large, and the material would need further processing before being suitable for use as the fissile material component of a nuclear explosive device," it read.

But the report said the "number of failures by Iran to report the material, facilities and activities in question in a timely manner as it is obliged . . . is a matter of concern."

One failure was "to declare the import of natural uranium in 1991 and its subsequent transfer for further processing."

The IAEA said Iran had submitted reports on imports but still had to give information "on the transfer of the material for further processing and use."

The nuclear watchdog has been carrying out inspections in Iran since February, when ElBaradei inspected nuclear sites.

An IAEA team is to leave for Iran this weekend, the latest in several visits since February.

‘Troubling’

U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the Bush administration found the leaked information to be "deeply troubling" and cause for world alarm.

"We think the report and Iran’s programs themselves are deeply troubling and need to be studied carefully by all members. Then we need to look at it seriously together."

He declined to comment on the specific contents of the report.

"Iran's clandestine nuclear program represents a serious challenge to regional stability, the entire international community and to the global non-proliferation regime," Boucher claimed.

"We think this report can provide important insights into the nature of the Iranian nuclear program and the problems that exist concerning Iran’s safeguard obligations," he said.

Tehran accuses Washington of uniteralism and undermining international efforts to fight terrorism and nuclear proliferation.

Russia is building Iran's first reactor, at Bushehr, despite U.S. complaints.

Moscow insists it will recover spent fuel to avoid any risk of Iran using it to develop weapons.