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WikiLeaks: Mohamed ElBaradei was 'too soft on Tehran’

The United States and Israel warned that Mohamed ElBaradei, a key leader of the Egyptian opposition, was soft on Iran and was becoming “part of the problem” in the Middle East, according to leaked diplomatic cables.

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The United States and Israel warned that Mohamed ElBaradei, a key leader of the Egyptian opposition, was soft on Iran and was becoming part of the problem in the Middle East, according to leaked diplomatic cables.
During his tenure at the IAEA, Mr ElBaradei played down fears that Iran was using the cover of civilian nuclear development to conceal more dangerous goals Credit: Photo: AP

Officials feared that Mr ElBaradei, who at the time was head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was “just going through the motions” with Iran and was failing to investigate fully its suspected nuclear programme.

In October, 2007, US diplomats were briefed by officers from Israeli Defence Intelligence that Mr ElBaradei saw himself as a “peacemaker” who was surrounded by staff who “do not wish to challenge him”. The cable states: “ElBaradei sees himself as a peacemaker akin to the Dalai Lama. He urged the US to take measures to 'chip away’ at the staff bolstering his 'supreme confidence’.

“He [the Israeli official] stressed that it would help if the US and other countries explained to ElBaradei that he might embarrass the IAEA and undercut his legacy in the long run.”

US officials harboured similar concerns. In January, 2009, Mr ElBaradei admitted that, without a wider political agreement, the agency would be unable to inspect Iran and Syria’s nuclear capabilities. The cable states: “ElBaradei repeated his view that, while the IAEA will 'do its job’ and 'go through the motions’ in Iran and Syria, he did not believe either issue would progress except as part of a wider political package.”

The US was unimpressed. The cable states: “Our diplomacy should remain geared to ensuring that others remain similarly engaged and that Board members make clear to the DG that he [ElBaradei] must do more than 'go through the motions’. On both files, Syria in particular, we need to keep pounding the theme that the IAEA’s institutional credibility is at stake.

“Unfortunately, ElBaradei is likely to remain part of the problem, rather than solution, if he becomes increasingly unwilling toward the end of his term to hold in check his proclivity to take a NAM-like view on key issues like the Middle East and fuel assurances.”

During his tenure at the IAEA, Mr ElBaradei, was seen as playing down fears that Iran was using the cover of civilian nuclear development to conceal more dangerous goals. He was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.