India with NAM in slamming IAEA report on Iran

Distancing itself from IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano's report on Iran and its pursuit of a nuclear programme, India today associated itself with a statement by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) which criticised the language used in the IAEA chief's report.

"NAM notes with concern the possible implications of the continued departure from standard verification language in the summary of the report of the Director General," said the statement which was read during the IAEA Board of Governors meeting on behalf of over 100 NAM member states, including India.

Besides raising the issue of Israel's nuclear activities and the IAEA investigation of Syria's alleged nuclear site that was bombed by Israel in 2007, the NAM statement is sharply critical of Amano for accepting at face value Western intelligence information on Iran's nuclear activities.

While India has been part of all NAM statements in the past, this time it is quite strongly-worded and has raised concerns on procedures followed by the IAEA. New Delhi has maintained that Tehran has an "inalienable right" to use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes but needs to abide by "international rules and obligations".

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