IAEA board agrees to deny Iran any help with reactor

VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency effectively agreed Wednesday to deny Iran technical help in building a plutonium-producing reactor but left room for Tehran to renew its request in two years, diplomats said.
A committee of the International Atomic Energy Agency forwarded a summary of three days of deliberations on 832 requests for technical aid to the full board, scheduled to meet today.
That gathering was expected to waive a decision on Tehran's request for aid for its Arak reactor. That, in effect, would deny IAEA money for Arak -- at least for the next two years, after which new requests will be considered.
The two diplomats -- from countries on opposing sides of the issue -- had different interpretations of what the expected ruling would mean, reflecting the depth of the dispute. Both demanded anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the topic with the media.
A European diplomat said the tentative agreement effectively meant that Iran's request was turned down. Another diplomat, from a developing nation, said it meant that the issue remained on the table because it could be revisited.
"It certainly is not denied," he said.
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