September 3, 2007 (LPAC)--International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Mohamed ElBaradei, in an interview with Der Spiegel out today, said that Iran could be passing by its last chance to resolve its nuclear energy dispute, unless it does so by the end of the year. "By November, or December at the latest, we should be able to state whether the Iranians are keeping their promises. If they don't keep them, Tehran will have passed by an important chance, perhaps the last," said ElBaradei. However, he urged international players to "encourage" Iran to cooperate. "Beside sanctions, there must also be encouragement," he said, underlining that "sanctions alone will not bring any durable solution."

But ElBaradei added that there were "concrete grounds to suspect" that Iran is developing a nuclear bomb capability.

Asked about the possible use of force against Tehran, ElBaradei said that might destroy a large part of Iran's nuclear installations, but warned of the danger of an explosion of violence in the whole region. "The already very deep oppositions between the Islamic world and the West would explode," he said. He added that such a move would also certainly reinforce support for an Iranian nuclear bomb.

On Aug. 21, Iran and the UN's IAEA agreed on a timetable for Tehran to clarify outstanding concerns about its contested nuclear program. On Aug. 27, the IAEA called that Iran's decision to answer key questions about the program was "a significant step forward."

But the United States reiterated its insistence that Iran suspend uranium enrichment entirely, and downplayed the IAEA claim of progress.