WORLD / Middle East
IAEA: U.S. report on Iran 'dishonest'
Updated: 2006-09-15 08:50
VIENNA, Austria - A recent House of Representatives committee report on
Iran's nuclear capability is "outrageous and dishonest" in trying to make
a case that Tehran's program is geared toward making weapons, a senior
official of the U.N. nuclear watchdog has said.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohammed
ElBaradei briefs the media before a board of governors meeting at
Vienna's U.N. headquarters September 11, 2006. U.N. inspectors have
protested to the U.S. government and a congressional committee about a
report on Iran's nuclear work, calling parts of it 'outrageous and
dishonest,' according to a letter obtained by Reuters.[Reuters]
The letter, obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday outside a
35-nation board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, says
the report is false in saying Iran is making weapons-grade uranium at an
experimental enrichment site, when it has in fact produced material only
in small quantities that is far below the level that can be used in
nuclear arms.
The letter, which was first reported on by The Washington Post, also says
the report erroneously says that IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei removed a
senior nuclear inspector from the team investigating Iran's nuclear
program "for concluding that the purpose of Iran's nuclear program is to
construct weapons."
In fact, the inspector was sidelined on Tehran's request, and the Islamic
republic had a right to ask for a replacement under agreements that
govern all states relationships with the agency, said the letter, calling
the report's version "incorrect and misleading."
"In addition," says the letter, "the report contains an outrageous and
dishonest suggestion that such removal might have been for 'not having
adhered to an unstated IAEA policy barring IAEA officials from telling
the whole truth about the Iranian nuclear program.'"
Dated Aug. 12, the letter was addressed to Rep. Peter Hoekstra (news,
bio, voting record), chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence. It was signed by Vilmos Cserveny, a senior director of the
Vienna-based agency.
An IAEA official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to comment on the letter, said it was written "to set the
record straight."
Jamal Ware, a spokesman for the House committee, confirmed they had
received the letter and said the chairman had referred it to Rep. Mike
Rogers, R-Mich., and Rep. Rush Hold, D-N.J. They will review it and issue
a formal response if necessary, he said.
"All IAEA complains about is a photo caption. If you read the report,
it's very clear that what it is saying is that Iran is working to develop
the capability to enrich uranium to weapons grade, not that they have
done so," Ware said. "They use a string of adjectives, while not pointing
to any substantive criticism of the report. There are areas where we
would disagree with them. A disagreement does not make what we say
erroneous."
The dispute was reminiscent of the clashes between the IAEA and
Washington over whether Saddam Hussein was trying to make weapons of mass
destruction, including nuclear arms. American arguments that Saddam had
such covert arms programs were given as the chief reason for invading
Iraq and toppling Saddam.
ElBaradei's criticism of the U.S. standpoint on Iraq and subsequent
perceptions that he was soft on Iran in his staff's investigation of
suspicions Tehran's nuclear activities may be a cover for a weapons
program led to a failed attempt last year by Washington to prevent his
re-election.
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