UN nuclear watchdog awaiting US report on Iraqi weapons

The United Nations nuclear watchdog is expecting to receive a copy of the recent report by the United States on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD), a spokesman for the agency said today.

Asked by UN Radio to comment on reports that Dr. David Kay, the US arms expert, had told Congress Thursday that no WMDs had been found, Mark Gwozdecky, a spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said: "We cannot comment on Dr. Kay's report without access to the detailed findings of his group which has been working for more than three months in Iraq.

"The IAEA still has an inspection mandate in Iraq, both under Security Council resolutions and under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to insure that Iraq has no nuclear weapon-related activities," he added. "We therefore expect that Dr. Kay's findings will be shared with us in accordance with paragraph 10 of Security Council resolution 1441 and this will enable us to fulfil our responsibilities."