Russia, China, Pakistan supplied uranium to Iran

THE International Atomic Energy Agency has identified Russia, China and Pakistan as probable suppliers of some of the technology Iran used to enrich uranium as part of its suspect nuclear programmes, diplomats said today.

The diplomats spoke as a key IAEA board meeting in Vienna discussed how to react to Iran's nuclear activities. While Iran has acknowledged nearly two decades of concealment, it has recently begun co-operating with the agency in response to international pressure.

As part of that cooperation it has suspended uranium enrichment an activity that the United States had linked to what it says was Iran's nuclear weapons agenda. Iran insists it enriched uranium only to produce power.