...So much of what (Iran) has said in the past year about its nuclear program has turned out to be false that there is no rational basis simply to assume the contrary now," Brill said.

Other European states have joined Washington in refusing to back a revised French, German and British draft resolution for being too weak in its condemnation of Iran's cover-up.

Washington hard-liners want Iran found in "non-compliance" with its international nuclear non-proliferation obligations and to be told that future breaches will bring Tehran to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.

Diplomats had hoped a final draft would be submitted to the IAEA's Board of Governors on Friday but an Agency spokeswoman said it would now be tabled next Wednesday at the earliest.

ANNOYANCE WITH THE "BIG THREE"

"The Americans are annoyed with the big three, the Europeans are annoyed with the big three and Tehran is annoyed with the big three," a Western diplomat told Reuters before the IAEA board began its second day of closed-door meetings on Friday.

Several diplomats said the French, British and Germans had annoyed other Europeans on the IAEA board by monopolizing the drafting process and refusing to strengthen it to express views of European capitals who feel closer to Washington's position.

"No one is happy with them," another Western diplomat said...

...Addressing delegates, U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Brill assailed Iran for "violations and lies" that stretched over 18 years, including enriching uranium, processing small amounts of plutonium and other activities that Washington says point to a weapons agenda.

"Iran systematically and deliberately deceived the IAEA and the international community about these issues for year after year after year," he said. The purpose, he said, was "the pursuit of nuclear weapons."

Such conduct on the part of Iran "constitutes noncompliance with its safeguards obligations," Brill said, in language that indirectly accused Iran of violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty - an act that normally results in Security Council involvement.

In comments that provoked an unusually sharp response from IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, Brill suggested a statement in ElBaradei's report on Iran was "questionable" in saying there was no "evidence" that Iran had
tried to build nuclear weapons. No "proof" would have been the proper phrase, said Brill.

ElBaradei dismissed the argument as "disingenuous," said diplomats inside the
meeting. "In our dictionary, evidence is the same as proof," he said.

Fleming said Elbaradei "takes issue with the U.S. accusation that the agency has threatened its credibility," adding: "We believe that we are impartial and credible and that actually our credibility has been enhanced."...