The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has in the past two years taken on new-found prominence as a series of crises over nuclear programmes in Iran, Libya and North Korea, and the smuggling network that supplied them, came to light. In the aftermath, "we have learned about how technology spread from the [A Q Khan smuggling] network has catapulted everybody into looking at how we can adjust the [nuclear non-proliferation] regime", explains IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, speaking from his office in Vienna. Nevertheless, says ElBaradei, "there is [currently] something clearly wrong, clearly missing and we need to adjust the system". He notes that the nuclear non-proliferation regime "needs an overhaul, not just a quick fix. We need to take a new approach and look at the big picture ... everybody understands there are a lot of gaps that need to be addressed." He specifically cites "a problem with export controls, controlling the sensitive part of the nuclear fuel cycle and the need for the agency to get the Additional Protocol to be the standard for verification".
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