US seeks more cash for nuclear watchdog

HHmmm.... Why do I smell a coming altercation leading to a war???

The US is pressing for a 25 per cent increase in the "safeguard" budget of the International Atomic Energy Agency to step up its monitoring of nuclear programmes in Iran and North Korea.

The potential increase of $30m for the IAEA, including $20m for its monitoring programme, is tiny compared with the United Nations budget. However, the US has in recent years been reluctant to increase contributions to multilateral bodies and its stance towards the IAEA suggests a new willingness to act collectively against the threat of weapons proliferation.

The US is the largest donor to the IAEA, the main nuclear watchdog, and has been topping up its budget discreetly. Now it wants to see the international nuclear inspectors better equipped: "There is a very strong case for an increase in the budget," said a US official

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