Serious implications if Iran fails to cooperate with IAEA: ElBaradei

Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters at the World Economic Forum here that Tehran had been working with the IAEA as it pledged to do late last year.

But he added: "It is very important for the agency to come to a conclusion. It will have serious implications if they do not cooperate fully with us in the investigations. I hope and I am confident that they will cooperate."

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ElBaradei did not elaborate on what he meant by "serious implications" if the Iranians did not come clean on their nuclear program.

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami gave new assurances here Wednesday that his country had no nuclear ambitions and opposed the production of nuclear arms. "Iran has never had weapons of mass destruction," he said.

Iran agreed last year to suspend uranium enrichment as a confidence-building measure, and ElBaradei said Thursday the IAEA had no indications Tehran was still trying to procure materials to make a bomb.

"They are working hard to verify the suspension of all procurement activities and I think we are making good progress and I hope we will continue to make progress," he said.

Asked about reports that nuclear materials were being smuggled into Iran, ElBaradei said, "We have individuals involved I do not want to jump to the conclusion that the government is involved.

"We are in the process of investigating this network first of all to stop it and then avoid a recurrence of that very dangerous phenomenon."