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Satellite imagery of Iran's nuclear facility in Natanz. (AP)
Last update - 06:22 26/02/2008
Iran UN envoy: Exiled group feeding U.S. lies on weapons plan
By The Associated Press
Tags: IAEA, U.K., nuclear, Iran

Iran's ambassador to the United Nations said that an Iranian opposition group is feeding fabricated evidence to Washington that purports to show the Tehran government tried to produce nuclear weapons.

Ambassador Mohammad Khazee on Monday told The Associated Press that the U.S. is getting unreliable intelligence from the Mujahedeen Khalq, also known as the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, which was allied with Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq.

Khazee insisted Iran has resolved all outstanding issues about its nuclear program and said Tehran should not face any new UN sanctions. He warned that new sanctions would harm the credibility of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
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The UN Security Council, however, is expected to approve a third round of sanctions against Iran later this week for its defiance of a council demand that it suspend uranium enrichment until it has allayed suspicions about its nuclear program.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice disputed the Iranian assessment of the IAEA report, saying it provided very strong grounds for the Security Council to move ahead quickly with new sanctions. She cited Iran's continued enrichment work and its failure to respond credibly to U.S. allegations that Iran conducted research into high explosives and missile design in the 1990s that were linked to atomic weapons.

Khazee told reporters that when the IAEA raised the U.S. allegations and
showed Iran some documents Feb. 15, his government knew the papers were
fabricated because they gave names that he claimed do not exist, and named people who have not been involved in Iran's nuclear program.

The IAEA report noted Iran had rejected documents that link it to missile and explosives experiments and other work connected to a possible nuclear weapons program, calling the information false and irrelevant.
"I'm afraid to say that, according to my information, some of these allegations were produced or fabricated by a terrorist group - which are listed as a terrorist group in the United States and somewhere else in Europe," Khazee said.

A senior British diplomat says Iran may have continued work on nuclear weapons past 2003, the year U.S. intelligence says such activities stopped.

Simon Smith, the chief British delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency, commented after an IAEA presentation of documentation that - if accurate - would strongly back U.S. claims that Iran at one point worked on programs linked to attempts to make nuclear weapons.

That assertion was also made by a U.S. National Intelligence Estimate, summarized and made public late last year said. That report also said, however, that the Iranians froze such work in 2003.

Asked whether the information presented to the IAEA's 35 board member nations indicated that Tehran continued such activities past that date, Smith said: "Certainly some of the dates ... went beyond 2003."

He did not elaborate. Another diplomat at the presentation, who asked for anonymity because the IAEA meeting was closed, said some of the documentation focused on a 2004 Iranian report on alleged weapons activities. But she said it was unclear whether the project was being actively worked on then.

A senior diplomat inside the meeting said that among the material shown was an Iranian video depicting mock-ups of a missile re-entry vehicle. He said IAEA Director General Oli Heinonen suggested the component - which brings missiles back from the stratosphere - was configured in a way that strongly suggests it was meant to carry a nuclear warhead.

Smith and the senior diplomat both said the material shown to the board members came from a multitude of sources, including information gathered by the agency and intelligence provided by the members themselves.

IAEA, the UN nuclear monitor, released a report last week saying that suspicions about most past Iranian nuclear activities had eased or been laid to rest.

But the report also noted that Iran had rejected documents that link it to missile and explosives experiments and other work connected to a possible nuclear weapons program, calling the information false and irrelevant.

The report called weaponization "the one major ... unsolved issue relevant to the nature of Iran's nuclear program."

Most of the material shown to Iran by the IAEA on alleged attempts to make nuclear arms came from Washington, though some was provided by U.S. allies, diplomats told the AP. The agency shared it with Tehran only after the nations gave their permission.


Related articles:
  • Foreign Ministry: IAEA report proves Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons
  • ANALYSIS: Iran's delay tactics include denying, lying, refusing
  • U.S.: Iran halted nuclear weapons development in 2003
  • Olmert: Nuke report on Iran shows need for tighter Iran sanctions
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      1.   cease the hand-wringing and bomb now. 20:09  |  frenz 25/02/08
      2.   Ahmadinejad and nuclear power. 20:19  |  Jean Van Daem 25/02/08
      3.   Simon Smith 20:21  |  Paul Wood 25/02/08
      4.   Reliability of British "intelligence" 20:43  |  Palestinian Brit 25/02/08
      5.   May have???? 20:51  |  heh,heh,heh,heh,heh 25/02/08
      6.   Iran might be working on nukes so Izzy wants to nuke them 21:31  |  Assad-u-LLAH 25/02/08
      7.   Britain`s limited intelligence 21:37  |  whizbang 25/02/08
      8.   If Israel can have nukes, then Iran can have nukes... STFU Israel 21:38  |  POP 25/02/08
      9.   #2 palestinian Brit 21:47  |  H 25/02/08
      10.   "May have" isn`t good enough, matey 21:48  |  Clickfool 25/02/08
      11.   This is the only solid fact in this garbage 21:50  |  Clickfool 25/02/08
      12.   Frenz in Manchester 22:02  |  Iranian-American 25/02/08
      13.   Horses are out of the barn 22:06  |  Iranian-American 25/02/08
      14.   All highly academic baloney 22:10  |  Clickfool 25/02/08
      15.   The real problem is Israeli aggression in the region 22:14  |  Dutch 25/02/08
      16.   Facts will be facts 22:23  |  Gilad 25/02/08
      17.   Who can believe Iran does nothing 4 years and intelligence didn`t 22:24  |  Alain 25/02/08
      18.   This British Ambassador should STFU 22:26  |  Chris Linthwaite 25/02/08
      19.   Clickfool 22:33  |  Avi 25/02/08
      20.   Nonsense! Iran is a sovereing country&has the right to develop 22:35  |  lakshmi 25/02/08
      21.   Clickfool 22:39  |  Simone 25/02/08
      22.   A man with a plan.....No7 22:43  |  Palestinian Brit 25/02/08
      23.   Compromise: Iran builds nukes, but doesn`t confirm or deny 22:57  |  Natallie Durson 25/02/08
      24.   a 5 year old could have told you this... 23:23  |  Igor D. 25/02/08
      25.   You Cannot Trust UK, US or Israeli Intelligence After Iraq. 23:38  |  Lev Bronstein 25/02/08
      26.   To Natallie Durson 23:47  |  Oleg 25/02/08
      27.   lev bronstein # 23 your from russia,i don`t have to say anymore! 00:58  |  terrornator 26/02/08
      28.   As Usual You Are All Blinkered 01:18  |  Phil 26/02/08
      29.   #25 - TerrorFormenter 02:31  |  Lev Bronstein 26/02/08
      30.   POP - Its about time you STFU on all subjects 02:39  |  Free Gilad Shalit 26/02/08
      31.   If Israel can have nukes, why not Iran? 03:50  |  Michael 26/02/08
      32.   Absolutely correct, POP#6 04:25  |  William 26/02/08
      33.   Creepfoot IAE claim suspicion laid to rest? Thk, I`m now relieved 04:26  |  Dan 26/02/08
      34.   hardcore evidence#16 - Chris 04:28  |  William 26/02/08
      35.   Natallie#21 - don`t think Iran will be able to deny 04:30  |  William 26/02/08
      36.   Mullah`s will make the bomb if not stopped 04:36  |  Yuri 26/02/08
      37.   Lev#27 - so are you blaming Jews for Communism? 04:36  |  William 26/02/08
      38.   What fuel though? 04:38  |  Paul 26/02/08
      39.   Facts and clickfool 04:40  |  Paul 26/02/08
      40.   Michael#29 - so you`re saying war is the answer? 04:42  |  William 26/02/08
      41.   Pal Brit#20 - a plan gone wrong 04:44  |  William 26/02/08
      42.   Is it really Iran? 06:11  |  Paul 26/02/08
      43.   Nukes second matrix! 07:32  |  Paul 26/02/08
      44.   third matrix! 07:35  |  Paul 26/02/08
      45.   Nuclear Iran. 08:05  |  Jean Van Daem 26/02/08
      46.   Recognition 08:05  |  Paul 26/02/08
      47.   All You Apes_What Does This report Have To Do With Israel? 08:07  |  Eli 26/02/08
      48.   Fundraiser for PMOI 08:12  |  Jeff 26/02/08
      49.   Haven`t we heard all this before? 08:29  |  Lataan 26/02/08
      50.   To #4 `Assad-u-LLAH 09:27  |  Ofir 26/02/08
      51.   For Avi # 19 09:28  |  Clickfool 26/02/08
      52.   For Simone # 21 09:30  |  Clickfool 26/02/08
      53.   The return of Phil # 28 09:33  |  Clickfool 26/02/08
      54.   this i well knew in advance 09:40  |  raw truth 26/02/08
      55.   #3 Paul wood 12:34  |  Sarah 26/02/08
      56.   Iranian-American 12:37  |  Sarah 26/02/08
      57.   #14 Clickfool 12:45  |  Sarah 26/02/08
      58.   What! You`re telling me this when we didn`t believe a PISS..... 13:57  |  The Archives 26/02/08
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