A report by the UN nuclear watchdog is expected to confirm Iran has resumed sensitive nuclear work, diplomats said, and EU officials meeting today were ready to take steps leading to possible sanctions.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is expected to deliver its latest report on Iran's nuclear programme to 35 nations on the agency's board of governors on Friday or Saturday, diplomats close to the agency said.
The IAEA has been investigating Iran's nuclear programme for almost three years. It has found no hard evidence to back US allegations that Tehran is developing nuclear weapons but is not convinced Iran's atomic ambitions are peaceful.
The key element in the report from IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei will be confirmation that Iran has resumed work at a uranium processing plant at Isfahan, which Tehran mothballed under a November 2004 deal with France, Britain and Germany.
Iran insists its nuclear ambitions are entirely peaceful and has accused the EU of trying to deprive it of atomic energy.
"The report will not have a harsh tone, but it is expected to confirm that Iran ended part of the suspension," a European diplomat told Reuters. "It will also outline a number of open questions about Iran's nuclear programme."
The report should say Iran's explanation that Pakistani contamination was behind traces of enriched uranium found on Iranian machinery is plausible, but also that questions remain about advanced centrifuge research that could be related to weapons activities and other issues, diplomats told Reuters.
Foreign ministers from the 25 EU states agreed on Thursday in Newport, Wales, that Iran should be referred to the U.N. Security Council if the IAEA finds Tehran's nuclear activities are not wholly peaceful, Sweden's foreign minister said.
"We agree that we must continue to state that if the IAEA is not satisfied with the result then it has to go to the Security Council," said Sweden's Laila Freivalds.
"But we don't think now is the time to discuss sanctions," she added.