IAEA protests Erroneous US Report on Iran

[Kathryn41 3,205]

REUTERS

IAEA protests "erroneous" U.S. report on Iran

By Mark HeinrichThu Sep 14, 5:51 AM ET

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.

The letter recalled clashes between the IAEA and the Bush

administration before the 2003 Iraq war over findings cited by

Washington about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that proved

false, and underlined continued tensions over Iran's dossier.

Sent to the head of the House of Representatives' Select Committee

on Intelligence by a senior aide to International Atomic Energy

Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei, the letter said an August 23

committee report contained serious distortions of IAEA findings on

Iran's activity.

The letter said the errors suggested Iran's nuclear fuel program was

much more advanced than a series of IAEA reports and Washington's

own intelligence assessments have determined.

It said the report falsely described Iran to have enriched uranium

at its pilot centrifuge plant to weapons-grade level in April,

whereas IAEA inspectors had made clear Iran had enriched only to a

low level usable for nuclear power reactor fuel.

"Furthermore, the IAEA Secretariat takes 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 program was to build weapons, it said.

The letter said the congressional report contained "an outrageous

and dishonest suggestion" that the inspector was dumped for having

not adhered to an alleged IAEA policy barring its "officials from

telling the whole truth" about Iran.

Diplomats say the inspector remains IAEA Iran section head.

The IAEA has been inspecting Iran's nuclear program since 2003.

Although it has found no hard evidence that Iran is working on

atomic weapons, it has uncovered many previously concealed

activities linked to uranium enrichment, a process of purifying fuel

for nuclear power plants or weapons.

IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said: "We felt obliged to put the

record straight with regard to the facts on what we have reported on

Iran. It's a matter of the integrity of the IAEA."

Diplomats say Washington, spearheading efforts to isolate Iran with

sanctions over its nuclear work, has long perceived ElBaradei to

be "soft" on Tehran.

"This (committee report) is deja vu of the pre-Iraq war period where

the facts are being maligned and attempts are being made to ruin the

integrity of IAEA inspectors," said a Western diplomat familiar with

the agency and IAEA-U.S. relations.

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[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

This is how 100%, definite expanding WMD programme in Saddam's Iraq became "supposed" and "theoretical"

Edited September 14, 2006 by erekose

[sharky 2]

also see link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5346524.stm

you can read the reports there for yourself.......

frankly I'm not surprised!

[Sister Fracas 5]

I must need to get my eyes checked... I read that quickly to say IKEA protests....

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Again no surprise that this administration is blowing out as much hot air as Tarzan's #######!