Friday, Dec. 3, 2010, japantimes.co

LONDON (Kyodo) - The Japanese head of the International Atomic Energy Agency gave assurances that he would support the United States on all crucial decisions, according to a U.S. diplomatic cable recently divulged by online whistle-blower WikiLeaks.

Yukiya Amano was quoted as saying before he became director general of the Vienna-based U.N. nuclear watchdog last December that he was "solidly in the U.S. court on every key strategic decision, from high-level personnel appointments to the handling of Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program," read the document cited by the British daily The Guardian.

The leak may aggravate tensions between Amano and Iran at a time when the IAEA, along with the United States and some of its allies, is making efforts to resolve a row over the Islamic state’s nuclear program.