UN nuclear watchdog meets on Iranian crisis

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US ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Gregory Schulte (L) chats with IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna.

VIENNA, Jun 11 (AFP): A meeting opening in Vienna Monday of the UN nuclear agency could bring Iran one step closer to a third round of sanctions against its nuclear programme.
"The distance to New York has shortened," said a diplomat, referring to the UN Security Council which sits in New York and has already imposed two rounds of sanctions against Iran for nuclear activities that raise fears it seeks atomic weapons.
The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency will be hearing this week a report from IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei which states that Iran is in fact expanding uranium enrichment work, the process that makes fuel for civilian nuclear reactors but that can also produce atom bomb material.
Iran had as of May 13, over 1,300 centrifuges enriching uranium at an underground facility in Natanz, according to a copy of the report obtained by the news agency.
Iran could reach its goal of industrial scale production with 3,000 centrifuges running by the end of June, a senior official close to the IAEA said.
This number of centrifuges if running at full capacity could make enough enriched uranium for a bomb in a little less than a year, according to experts.
Iran insists its programme is a peaceful effort to generate electricity, to which it has a right under the nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty, but the United States charges that this is only a cover for developing atomic weapons.
The crisis over Iran's nuclear ambitions is escalating.
Iran warned Sunday that it would use its missiles to strike US military bases in neighbouring Gulf states if they were used as staging posts to attack the Islamic republic over its nuclear programme.
Washington has always said it wants to resolve the crisis through diplomacy but has never ruled out using military action.
American and Israeli air forces Sunday began week-long joint exercises in southern Israel, simulating dog-fights and bombing targets on the ground, the army said.
It said the exercises were taking place in the context of US- Israeli discussions on Iran's nuclear programme.
AP from Vienna adds: A meeting between a senior Iranian envoy and a top official of the International Atomic Energy Agency was abruptly canceled Monday, and diplomats faulted refusal by Iran to make good on a promise to provide answers about its past atomic activities.
The meeting, between Javeed Vaidi of Iran and deputy IAEA director general Olli Heinonen, had been billed as a test of Tehran's readiness to end years of stonewalling and provide answers on aspects of its nuclear programme that could be used to develop weapons.
But a diplomat told The Associated Press that the meeting was canceled on short notice because of perceptions that Vaidi would bring "nothing substantial" to the meeting with Heinonen.
This is a breaking news update. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.