Israel Matzav

ElBaradei gets disgusted

Four days before the end of his term, feckless IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei has finally gotten mad at his Iranian brothers.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday that his probe of allegations that Iran tried to make nuclear arms is at "a dead end" because Teheran is not cooperating and warned that confidence in Teheran had shrunk in the wake of its belated revelation of a previously secret nuclear facility.

Mohamed ElBaradei also criticized Teheran for not accepting an internationally endorsed plan meant to delay its ability to make such weapons.

The unusually blunt comments appeared to be a reflection of frustration four days before he ends his tenure leading an agency that has proven unable to overcome Iran's defiance and ease international concerns that it may be using a civilian nuclear program as a cover for plans to make weapons.

"There has been no movement on remaining issues of concern which need to be clarified for the agency to verify the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program," ElBaradei told the opening session of the IAEA's 35-nation board of governors. "We have effectively reached a dead end, unless Iran engages fully with us."

The IAEA can't verify the 'exclusively peaceful nature' of Iran's nuclear program, because to do so, it would have to verify a lie. While ElBaradei might have been willing to do that, much of his membership is not willing to verify a lie.

What could go wrong?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:46 PM