TEHRAN - On the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Mehr News Agency conducted interviews with a number of political analysts on the IAEA and its role in political affairs.

The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on July 29, 1957. In 1953, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower envisioned the creation of this international body to control and develop the use of atomic energy, in his “Atoms for Peace” speech before the UN General Assembly. The organization and its Director General, Mohamed ElBaradei, were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, announced on October 7, 2005. Political analyst Davud Hermidas-Bavand said the IAEA has an affirmative and a prohibitive aspect. According to its prohibitive aspect, nuclear nations have made a commitment to never help other countries gain access to nuclear weapons, and according to its affirmative aspect, countries that possess civilian nuclear technology should help other countries gain access to it, he explained. Iran has repeatedly declared that its nuclear program is totally peaceful, but the course of Iran’s nuclear dossier became disturbed in the IAEA when the United States, which is the agency’s most influential member, began to question Iran’s intent, Hermidas-Bavand observed. Despite the lack of any technical evidence, ElBaradei has issued two-edged reports on Iran’s nuclear program that facilitated the U.S. plans, he noted. The role of political influences on Iran’s nuclear dossier at times has exceeded the role of technical investigations, but despite this, Iran has agreed to cooperate with the IAEA and has been trying to convince the world that it is being honest and is showing goodwill, Hermidas-Bavand stated. Political analyst Hossein Alaii said the weak performance of the IAEA has allowed it to be turned into a tool of the U.S. and the UN Security Council. It has allowed the permanent members of the Security Council to retain their nuclear weapons, but certain countries, like India and Pakistan, have gained access to nuclear weapons because of their ties with the U.S., Alaii stated. Political analyst Ali-Reza Davari said the fact that Israel possesses a nuclear arsenal and has refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the IAEA’s pressure on Iran, although the Islamic Republic has extensively cooperated with the agency, are dark spots on the IAEA’s record that have led to mistrust of the international organization. The unlawful manipulation of the IAEA by the U.S. and certain other Western countries has also led to a decline in the IAEA’s legal and technical status, he noted