IAEA plans to send team to Iraqi nuclear site soon

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is planning to send a team to the Iraqi nuclear research centre at Tuwaitha soon to verify nuclear material under safeguards there pursuant to Iraq's obligations to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the agency announced in Vienna today.

The despatch of the mission had been agreed to with the United States Government and it would be limited to verifying Iraq's safeguards obligations, IAEA said.

The move follows a call on Monday by IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei to let agency experts return to address a possible radiological emergency in Iraq following almost daily reports of looting and destruction at nuclear sites.

Mr. ElBaradei first wrote to the US Government on 10 April bringing its attention to the need to secure nuclear material stored at Tuwaitha that had been under IAEA seal since 1991.