Special report: Iran Nuclear Crisis 

The International Atomic Energy Agency flag flys in front of IAEA headquarters in Vienna. The UN atomic watchdog agency has halted almost half its aid programmes to Iran as part of UN sanctions imposed to get Tehran to allay fears it seeks nuclear weapons, an IAEA report said. (AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    VIENNA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) fully and partially suspended some technical nuclear aid projects to Iran, a senior diplomat at IAEA confirmed to Xinhua on Friday.

    In line with the sanction's Resolution 1737, which was passed by the U.N. Security Council on Dec. 23, 2006, IAEA suspended more than 10 nuclear aid projects to Iran this time, said the diplomat.

    Moreover, he also added, the freeze of the aids was temporary and those presently suspended aid projects were expected to be reviewed and approved by the 35-nation board of the IAEA on March 5 in Vienna.

    In the meantime, Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani also canceled the meeting on Friday, which was planned to meet with IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei during a stopover Friday in Vienna, officials said to the local media.

    Diplomats had earlier said Larijani was preparing to talk with ElBaradei and some other European officials, focusing mainly on technical support. However, he had to cancel his trip to Europe as a result of a sudden illness.

    The U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 1737 last year, demanding Iran to "suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and developments on all heavy water-related projects". However, Iranian officials rejected and vowed to install 3,000 centrifuges by March 2007.

    Therefore, due to the sanctions resolution and the pressure from the United States to reduce at least half of the aid projects, the Vienna-based IAEA already suspended some technical aids to Iran last month.

    IAEA has more than 40 nuclear aid projects to Iran involving other countries to bolster peaceful uses of nuclear energy in medicine, agriculture or power generation, and about 15 aid projects among them are specifically set for Iran.