Australia Urges Iran to Cooperate on Nuclear Plan

CANBERRA - - Australia recently urged Iran to cooperate with an investigation by the United Nations nuclear watchdog into Tehran's nuclear programs, Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been investigating Iran's nuclear program, which Iran says is aimed solely at generating electricity to meet rising demand and not at building nuclear weapons.

But the United States has been pressing the 35-nation IAEA board to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council for hiding its uranium enrichment program from the IAEA for nearly two decades and to prevent the country from building a nuclear bomb.

Downer said he met Iran's visiting Supreme National Security Council Secretary, Hassan Rowhani, to discuss the issue and would have more talks later the same day.

"We have already had one round of talks and we will be meeting again this evening and on our agenda, among other issues, is Iran's nuclear program," Downer told parliament.

"Obviously we want to see Iran fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and fulfil all of its obligations under the International Atomic Energy Agency."

Tehran said in July it had resumed making parts for uranium enrichment centrifuges, which can be used to make bomb material.

But Iran said it is entitled to carry out such activities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and said it would not give up its right to pursue enrichment technology to produce fuel for nuclear power reactors.

Downer's meeting with Rowhani comes ahead of a visit by the Australian foreign minister to North Korea, where he will press the reclusive communist state to end a stand-off over its nuclear weapons programs.

"I will do what I can to try and encourage the North Koreans to abandon their nuclear programs along the lines that have been put forward by five members of the six-parties' talks," Downer said recently. In a bid to break the nuclear deadlock, China, the United States, the two Koreas, Japan and Russia are involved in six-party negotiations to try to secure a diplomatic solution and are due for a fourth round of talks before the end of September.

Although Australia is not directly involved in the talks, Downer, who will travel to Pyongyang on Aug. 17-18, said his country's close alliance with the United States and rare diplomatic ties with North Korea meant it could help mediate.

The nuclear crisis erupted in late 2002 after the United States said isolated North Korea had admitted to developing highly enriched uranium for weapons. Pyongyang has since denied it has such a program.