WASHINGTON: United Nations (UN) inspectors have been unable to find any clear evidence pointing to a nuclear arms programme in Iran, according to an upcoming report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) cited by The Washington Post on Wednesday.
The UN agency investigated some US intelligence tips about Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons, but turned up nothing conclusive, said the Post said, citing unidentified diplomats who had been briefed on the report.
The report could be made public as early as Wednesday. However, the report said questions remain about Tehran’s activities and several tips have not been fully explored, the newspaper said.
The United States believes Iran could be three to five years away from making a nuclear bomb. This is in part due to an IAEA confidential report that outlines Iran’s plan to process tonnes of uranium into a substance that can be used to make nuclear weapons.
The report said the agency had been informed by the Islamic Republic that it planned to process 37 metric tonnes of raw uranium into uranium hexafluoride.
Uranium hexafluoride is spun in centrifuges to produce enriched uranium, which in turn can be used to generate power or make nuclear warheads, depending on the degree of enrichment.
A diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that enough highly enriched uranium could be produced from the hexafluoride derivative to make several explosive devices. agencies