'Amano harbors bias against Iran'

Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano has been accused by two former senior IAEA officials of harboring pro-Western bias against Iran’s nuclear energy program. Robert Kelley, a former US weapons scientist and the former chief inspector for the IAEA in Iraq, said that worrying parallels could be found between the West's mistakes over Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction then and the IAEA's treatment of Iran’s nuclear energy program now, the British daily, The Guardian reported on Thursday. "Amano is falling into the [former US vice president, Dick] Cheney trap. What we learned back in 2002 and 2003, when we were in the run-up to the [Iraq] war, was that peer review was very important, and that the analysis should not be left to a small group of people," Kelley said. "So what have we learned since then? Absolutely nothing. Just like Dick Cheney, Amano is relying on a very small group of people and those opinions are not being checked,” he added. Meanwhile, Hans Blix, the former IAEA director general, said that the body needed to rely on intelligence that was verified. "There is a distinction between information and evidence, and if you are a responsible agency, you have to make sure that you ask questions and do not base conclusions on information that has not been verified.” “The agency has a certain credibility. It should guard it by being meticulous in checking the evidence. If certain governments want a blessing for the intelligence they provide the IAEA, they should provide convincing evidence. Otherwise, the agency should not give its stamp of approval." Blix said, adding that he could not say for certain whether that had happened under Amano's watch. Since Amano’s appointment in July 2009, the West's pressure on Iran over its peaceful nuclear energy program has increased and threats of a military attack against Iran’s nuclear facilities have also become more frequent. Iran rejects allegations of pursuing military objectives in its peaceful nuclear energy program, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Tehran has repeatedly called on the IAEA not to be swayed by the US and its allies, warning that the body would undermine its credibility by publishing prejudiced reports about Iran’s nuclear work.