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Source: U.N. nuclear agency faults IranTehran working to fix breach, IAEA expected to report
(CNN) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency is reporting that Iran has failed to meet its obligations under an international nuclear safeguards agreement, a diplomatic source told CNN on Friday. In a report expected to be released this month, the IAEA says Iran is taking steps to rectify the situation, according to the diplomat, who spoke from Vienna, Austria. The IAEA is the nuclear watchdog of the United Nations. "Iran has failed to meet its obligations under its safeguards agreement with respect to the reporting of nuclear material, the subsequent processing and use of that material and the declaration of facilities where that material was stored and processed," the report says, according to the diplomat, who added that the quantities at issue are not large. An IAEA spokeswoman had no comment. Hamid Assefi, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said Iran has not seen the report and therefore had no response. Iran is a signatory of the International Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Senior Bush administration officials have called the report "very helpful" and said they believe it will help convince Russia and other key governments that Iran might be trying to build nuclear weapons and must be stopped. "It lays out a lot of information about potential violations" of the nonproliferation treaty, a senior official told CNN. "It should set the stage for action in 10 days time by the IAEA." Bush administration officials have long accused Iran of attempting to develop nuclear weapons. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said in March that the United States rejects Iran's claim that it is developing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, such as power plants. In December 2002, the U.S. State Department said satellite photos reinforced the belief that Iran was "actively working" on a nuclear weapons program. IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei is to present the report at a meeting of the agency's board of governors June 16, the diplomatic source said.
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