Atom treaty talks in jeopardy over Iran objections

VIENNA, May 3 (Reuters) A 130-nation meeting on overhauling the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was put on hold again today as diplomats struggled to overcome Iranian objections to the agenda.

Tehran's move to block the required consensus for the agenda, arguing the text would single it out as the main threat to the NPT, has dimmed prospects for agreeing priorities to shore up the treaty before the meeting concludes on May 11.

Yukiya Amano, Japanese chairman of the NPT ''Preparatory Committee'' session in Vienna, postponed proceedings for the second time in as many days, saying he needed more time for consultations to break the impasse.

He reiterated to reporters that he did not intend to change the language of the agenda, and barring an agreement, there would be no substantive debate on new ideas for the NPT.

The meeting is the first of three leading to the next, decision-making NPT Review Conference in 2010. The last conference in 2005 collapsed in disputes over the agenda.

The NPT binds members without nuclear bombs not to acquire them, guarantees the right of all members to nuclear energy for peaceful ends, and commits the original five nuclear powers from the post World War Two era to phase out their arsenals.

Iran denies Western fears it harbours a secret atomic bomb project, saying it is enriching uranium for electricity.

But the UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on Tehran for refusing to suspend the programme, hiding nuclear research in the past and impeding UN inquiries now.

Those acts constitute NPT non-compliance, Western nations say, and Amano inserted a clause in the agenda at their request to focus on ''the need for full compliance'' with the treaty, diplomats said.

No member of the Non-Aligned Movement of developing states except Iran raised objections to the agenda.

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