Ali Ashgar Soltanieh
Photo: AP
Mohamed ElBaradei
Photo: AFP
Iran threatens to sue countries damaging its nuclear reputation
Islamic Republic's chief delegate to IAEA accuses US of pressuring UN agency to base latest probe on its nuclear program on fake evidence
Iran is threatening to sue countries that it says have damaged its reputation and pushed to have UN Security Council involvement in its nuclear program.
Nuclear Threat
News agencies
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It is also accusing the US of pressuring the International Atomic Energy Agency to base its latest probe of Iran's nuclear program on fake evidence suggesting Tehran has tried to make nuclear arms.
The comments were made Thursday to the 35-nation board of the IAEA by Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, Iran's chief delegate to the agency.
Last week the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued an unusually strongly worded report saying Iran may be withholding information needed to establish whether it tried to make nuclear arms, said Monday in.
The tone of the language suggesting that Tehran continues to stonewall the agency — the UN nuclear monitor — revealed a glimpse of the frustration felt by IAEA investigators stymied in their attempts to gain full answers to suspicious aspects of Iran's past nuclear activities.
IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei said on Monday that Iran appears to be holding back information needed to clarify intelligence allegations that it secretly studied how to design nuclear weapons, adding that it was a "matter of serious concern".
Iran says the material is forged but has not backed up its denials with evidence "Iran has not yet agreed to implement all the transparency measures required to clarify this cluster of allegations and questions," ElBaradei said.
