Iran was on Wednesday once again warned to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog and suspend its uranium enrichment programme or face further UN Security Council sanctions, according to dpa. Delegates at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna expressed their concerns that due to Iran's lack of cooperation, the IAEA's knowledge on Iran's nuclear programme was deteriorating. If Iran did not want to "re-engage in discussion, further action is unavoidable," Peter Gottwald, Germany's ambassador to the IAEA, said. He was speaking on behalf of the European Union, of which Germany currently holds the rotating presidency. Voicing similar frustration, Britain, speaking for the EU-3, criticised Iran for not taking any steps to build confidence in the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme. "The reason why this conviction is not there is a combination of acts on the ground and the unexplained hidden 20 year history of the Iranian nuclear programme," British Ambassador John MacGregor said. For the United States, Iran's suspension of an agreement providing early design information to the IAEA was especially cause for concern.
