The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) intends this month to carry out a physical inventory verification (PIV) on the remaining nuclear material in Iraq, reported the Kuwaiti News Agency (KUNA). IAEA's announcement came in a letter from the organization's director general, Mohammed el-Baradei, to the UN Security Council, said the agency.
The IAEA, said KUNA, is obliged to carry out a PIV once every year.
"Nuclear materials in Iraq should be verified to ensure that they are not utilized for weapon manufacturing, said the letter, quoted by the agency.
The letter, moreover, pointed out that since December 15 1998, IAEA has been unable to implement its security council-mandated activities in Iraq.
Baghdad and the UN are still in dispute over lifting the sanctions imposed on the country since its invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
Baghdad, demanding the UN to lift sanctions imposed on it since 1991, says it has complied with all UN resolutions that call for elimination of all destructive weapons and other conditions. However, the UN claims that Iraq is still hiding some weapons that comprise a threat to its neighbors -- Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
