US urges denial of IAEA aid for Iranian reactor

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The United States on Monday urged the International Atomic Energy Agency to deny aid to Iran in building a plutonium-producing reactor, but said it would not oppose Teheran's requests for aid on seven other projects. "We are prepared to join consensus" on approving the seven other requests from Iran if the agency's board agrees to deny aid to Iran on building the Arak research reactor, said Gregory L. Schulte, the chief US delegate to the IAEA. His comments to the closed committee meeting on IAEA technical aid to member countries were made available to The Associated Press. But Schulte suggested there would be no compromise on Arak, describing it as being "capable of producing plutonium for one or more nuclear weapons each year," once completed, likely in the next decade.