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ElBaradei plays peace-maker

Atul Aneja

DUBAI: The moderating influence of Mohammad ElBaradei, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) appears visible in the report on Iran that was circulated among the grouping's board members on Monday.

Analysts point out that Mr. ElBaradei's efforts to buffer a confrontation between Iran with the United States and the European Union (E.U.) had become apparent earlier in February, when he urged key Western states to be more accommodative of Iran's position. Advocating that Iran be allowed small scale enrichment, officials close to Mr. ElBaradei were quoted by Reuters news agency in a mid-February report as saying, "Natanz [Teheran's pilot enrichment plant] is Iran's bottomline, a sovereignty issue, a reality we may have to deal with."

Iran has also been sending conciliatory signals. An Iranian website Aftabnews reported that Iran's Expediency Council head, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, met 11 Grand Ayatollahs at the seminary in Qom on January 29 to discuss the nuclear issue. A day later, the Persian language daily Keyhan gave details about a six-point proposal that had been handed over to the Europeans by Iranian negotiator Javad Vaedi in order to defuse the crisis.

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