IAEA Chief Views New N. Countries as No threat

TEHRAN (FNA) – Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohammed ElBaradei said the greatest global danger would be posed by nuclear-armed extremist groups and not newly emerging nuclear states.

“We need to be aware this is the number one security threat we are facing,” Mohammed ElBaradei told a group of high-profile diplomats at a key security conference in the southern German city of Munich, press tv reported.

“Any country, even if they have nuclear weapons will know that if they use nuclear weapons they will be pulverized.” But extremist groups, ElBaradei warned, “If they have it, they will use it.”

The IAEA chief urged western nations to directly negotiate with Iran, instead of using sanctions and military threats, to resolve the crisis.

“Confidence building can only be attained by direct negotiations,” ElBaradei said.

He went on to say that good progress had been made to resolve the outstanding issues concerning Iran’s nuclear program.

ElBaradei is expected to deliver a report on Iran’s nuclear activities by late February.