IAEA 'can't be sure Iran's nuclear program not military'.

IAEA 'can't be sure Iran's nuclear program not military'.(JPost).VIENNA - The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Monday his organization could not be sure that Iran's nuclear program did not have military aims."The agency is unable to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran and therefore to conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities," Yukiya Amano said, according to a copy of his speech to a closed-door meeting of the IAEA's 35-nation governing board.
Amano said that since late last year, Iran had tripled monthly output of higher-grade enriched uranium.
The IAEA chief's comments came as the US continued to rally international support to further isolate the Islamic Republic in attempts to force Tehran to abandon its nuclear program.
Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba told Reuters on Monday that Japan and the United States are close to an agreement on cuts in Japanese imports of Iranian oil that will allow Tokyo to avoid US sanctions, and may conclude a deal this month.But Gemba said the two sides might not make public the size of the cuts because of the possible impact on markets.
"We are in the final stage, but are still making final adjustments (to an agreement)," Gemba said in an interview. "Certainly, we will reduce (the imports), but because the concrete figures would influence the market, I am thinking at this point that it would be better not to announce them."
The pressure to cut Iranian imports comes as Japan is boosting overall fossil fuel imports in the wake of the nuclear disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Co's (Tepco) Fukushima atomic plant last March. All but two of the country's 54 nuclear reactors are off-line, mostly for checks and maintenance.
About 85 percent of Japan's oil imports and 20 percent of its LNG imports travel through the Strait of Hormuz, Gemba noted, but said that if Iran blockaded the crucial shipping lane, Japan could keep the economic impact on the country to a minimum because it has ample reserves.Read the full story here.