United States official: Nuclear inspection in Syria possible

The U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency will likely believe a special inspection of Syria to answer nagging questions over its nuclear activities, the U.S. ambassador to the organization said Tuesday. Glyn Davies was said a number of countries on the IAEA's board of governors support plans to raise the rarely used sanction. Like Iran, Syria is suspected of hiding weapons-associated nuclear activities and has blocked access to a suspected nuclear site destroyed by Israeli warplanes in September 2007.

"We need to keep the focus very much on Iran but stay tuned on Syria, because Syria I think would love to just stave off any serious action to obtain to the bottom of what they were doing," Davies told reporters in London. A recent IAEA report said that uranium particles found at the Dair Alzour waste facility indicate possible covert nuclear activities. The finding supported Western allegations that the bombed goal was a nearly completed nuclear reactor which the U.S. alleges was of North Korean design and planned to produce weapons-grade plutonium. Agency experts inspected Dair Alzour in June 2008, but have since been barred from revisiting.

"Because Syria has stonewalled for years the numbers of questions have continued to accrue about what it is Syria was up to," Davies said. He said there was an increasing consensus among nations on the IAEA board that the issue must be addressed. "A number of countries are opening to ask questions about whether it might not be time to use that device of a special inspection, so that the agency can go in or at slightest go to Damascus," Davies said. Davies acknowledged that a special examination a sanction under which the IAEA's requests for access are made lawfully binding had not been authorized for many years.

India and Canada sign social nuclear deal

India and Canada have signed an agreement for nuclear energy cooperation, the prime ministers of both countries announce. The agreement comes 36 years after Canada located sanctions on India after it exploded an atomic tool using materials from a Canadian-made nuclear reactor. India maintained that nuclear material or equipment entire to the country would not be used for "any unintended purpose."

"Nuclear material supplied to India will be fully protected in terms of agreement signed with International Atomic Energy Agency. We have fool-proof system of export controls," Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told reporters Sunday in a news conference with his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper after the two leaders signed the conformity.

The agreement makes Canada the ninth civil nuclear energy co-worker for India. further partners include the United States, France, Russia and Kazakhstan. The agreement covers cooperation in areas including design, building and maintenance; the sharing of operating knowledge and decommissioning of nuclear reactors; the supply of uranium; projects in third countries, as well as the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear waste management.

Iran to review dealings with UN nuclear watchdog

Iran warned Thursday it will review relations with the U.N. nuclear regulator, a day after the U.N. Security Council agreed a fourth round of sanctions against Tehran over its disputed nuclear program. Iran's president dismiss the sanction as "annoying flies" and as useless as "used tissues."

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of the Iranian parliament's powerful National Security and Foreign Policy commission, describe the sanctions as "political, illegal and illogical" and said lawmaker would quickly "begin a review of Iran's relations" with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

He did not say what options would be discuss. But one possibility is Iran could limit IAEA inspectors' access to nuclear facilities making the country's nuclear program even more opaque.In Vienna, IAEA presenter Gill Tudor said the agency had no comment.Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said imposing new sanctions "is not productive, and will destroy the ground for solving the current crisis" with the West.