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Fri 15 Sep 2006
US report on Iran nuclear programme 'misleading'
EBEN HARRELL
A US report into Iran's nuclear capabilities contains statements that are "outrageous and dishonest," UN inspectors investigating Iran's nuclear programme said yesterday.
The IAEA said errors in the report, recently made public by the US Congress, suggested that Iran's nuclear fuel programme was much more advanced than a series of IAEA reports and Washington's own intelligence assessments had determined.
In a letter sent to the Bush administration and to a Republican congressman, the IAEA said the report contained "erroneous, misleading and unsubstantiated statements".
The letter recalled clashes between the IAEA and the Bush administration before the 2003 Iraq war over intelligence regarding weapons of mass destruction, and underlined growing tensions over Iran's current nuclear capacities.
The letter, leaked to the Washington Post, was sent to Peter Hoekstra, the Republican chairman of a Congressional committee that released a report last month detailing Iran's nuclear ambitions.
When it was released, Mr Hoekstra said his aim was "to help increase the American public's understanding of Iran as a threat".
Yesterday, Democrats on the committee said the report was released without being discussed by the full committee.
Jane Harman, the panel's senior Democrat, advised party colleagues the report employed "analytical shortcuts" that presented Iran as a more dire threat than it is, aides said.
The IAEA letter said the agency secretariat took "strong exception to the incorrect and misleading assertion" that the IAEA opted to remove a senior safeguards inspector for supposedly concluding the purpose of Iran's programme was to build weapons.
The congressional report contained "an outrageous and dishonest suggestion" the inspector was dumped for having not adhered to an alleged IAEA policy barring its "officials from telling the whole truth" about Iran, said the letter.
Diplomats say the inspector remains IAEA Iran section head.
The IAEA has been inspecting Iran's nuclear programme since 2003. Although it has found no hard evidence Iran is working on atomic weapons, it has uncovered many activities linked to uranium enrichment, a process of purifying fuel for nuclear power plants or weapons.
Diplomats say Washington, spearheading efforts to isolate Iran with sanctions over its nuclear work, has long perceived the IAEA to be "soft" on Tehran.
It was also announced yesterday that the European Union's foreign policy chief and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator have abruptly postponed a planned meeting planned today to hold talks on easing tension over Tehran's refusal to stop enriching uranium.
"This is like pre-war Iraq all over again," said David Albright, president of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security. "You have an Iranian nuclear threat that is spun up, using bad information that's cherry-picked and a report that trashes the inspectors."
US report on Iran nuclear programme 'misleading'
EBEN HARRELL
A US report into Iran's nuclear capabilities contains statements that are "outrageous and dishonest," UN inspectors investigating Iran's nuclear programme said yesterday.
The IAEA said errors in the report, recently made public by the US Congress, suggested that Iran's nuclear fuel programme was much more advanced than a series of IAEA reports and Washington's own intelligence assessments had determined.
In a letter sent to the Bush administration and to a Republican congressman, the IAEA said the report contained "erroneous, misleading and unsubstantiated statements".
The letter recalled clashes between the IAEA and the Bush administration before the 2003 Iraq war over intelligence regarding weapons of mass destruction, and underlined growing tensions over Iran's current nuclear capacities.
The letter, leaked to the Washington Post, was sent to Peter Hoekstra, the Republican chairman of a Congressional committee that released a report last month detailing Iran's nuclear ambitions.
When it was released, Mr Hoekstra said his aim was "to help increase the American public's understanding of Iran as a threat".
Yesterday, Democrats on the committee said the report was released without being discussed by the full committee.
Jane Harman, the panel's senior Democrat, advised party colleagues the report employed "analytical shortcuts" that presented Iran as a more dire threat than it is, aides said.
The IAEA letter said the agency secretariat took "strong exception to the incorrect and misleading assertion" that the IAEA opted to remove a senior safeguards inspector for supposedly concluding the purpose of Iran's programme was to build weapons.
The congressional report contained "an outrageous and dishonest suggestion" the inspector was dumped for having not adhered to an alleged IAEA policy barring its "officials from telling the whole truth" about Iran, said the letter.
Diplomats say the inspector remains IAEA Iran section head.
The IAEA has been inspecting Iran's nuclear programme since 2003. Although it has found no hard evidence Iran is working on atomic weapons, it has uncovered many activities linked to uranium enrichment, a process of purifying fuel for nuclear power plants or weapons.
Diplomats say Washington, spearheading efforts to isolate Iran with sanctions over its nuclear work, has long perceived the IAEA to be "soft" on Tehran.
It was also announced yesterday that the European Union's foreign policy chief and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator have abruptly postponed a planned meeting planned today to hold talks on easing tension over Tehran's refusal to stop enriching uranium.
"This is like pre-war Iraq all over again," said David Albright, president of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security. "You have an Iranian nuclear threat that is spun up, using bad information that's cherry-picked and a report that trashes the inspectors."
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