UN body gives clean chit to Iran

VIENNA: The UN’s nuclear watchdog reiterated on Tuesday it had “no credible indications of activities in Iran relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device after 2009”, citing its assessments from 2015. A spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement that its board of governors had “declared that its consideration of this issue was closed” after it was presented with a report in December 2015. The statement came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled what he said was new “proof” that Iran’s nuclear weapons programme could be reactivated at any time. Without referring to Netanyahu’s claims directly, the IAEA spokesman said the agency “evaluates all safeguards-relevant information available to it”. — AFP