IAEA can't verify Iran's nuclear intent

VIENNA, March 7 (UPI) -- Iran isn't doing enough to allay international concerns that its nuclear program is cover for a secret weapons program, a U.N. watchdog said Monday.

Iran is under pressure from international and unilateral sanctions imposed because of its controversial nuclear program. Tehran insists the program is for peaceful civilian use, though many of its Western adversaries say Iran is pursuing a weapons program.

Yukiya Amano, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a report issued Monday that Iran wasn't doing enough in terms of nuclear transparency.

He said the IAEA verified that Iran wasn't diverting any of its declared nuclear material to outside facilities. The country, however, "is not providing the necessary cooperation to enable the agency to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran, and therefore to conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities."

On Syria, Amano said he received a letter from Damascus stating that Syria wished to work with the United Nations to resolve outstanding issues. The Syrian republic, Amano noted, hasn't cooperated with the IAEA since June 2008 regarding unresolved issues related to the Dair Alzour site.

Israeli jets bombed the Dair Alzour facility near al-Kibar in Syria in 2007. Intelligence officials said the site was a nuclear reactor of North Korean design under construction since 2001.

IAEA inspectors found traces of uranium that hadn't been disclosed by Damascus, though it was unclear if the uranium was from Dair Alzour.