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Tehran’s prayer leader warns IAEA

Nuclear Program Materials 7 November 2011 12:13 (UTC +04:00)
Tehran's Eid-al-Adha prayer leader, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, warned the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano not to “defame” the nuclear watchdog by unveiling “false documents”
Tehran’s prayer leader warns IAEA

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 7 / Trend D.Khatinoglu/

Tehran's Eid-al-Adha prayer leader, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, warned the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano not to "defame" the nuclear watchdog by unveiling "false documents", IRNA reported.

Amano will release his new report about Iran's disputed nuclear this week.

Intelligence provided to U.N. nuclear officials shows that Iran's government has mastered the critical steps needed to build a nuclear weapon, receiving assistance from foreign scientists to overcome key technical hurdles, according to Western diplomats and nuclear experts briefed on the findings, The Washingtonpost reported.

Documents and other records provide new details on the role played by a former Soviet weapons scientist who allegedly tutored Iranians over several years on building high-precision detonators of the kind used to trigger a nuclear chain reaction, the officials and experts said. Crucial technology linked to experts in Pakistan and North Korea also helped propel Iran to the threshold of nuclear capability, they added.

Officials, citing secret intelligence provided over several years to the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the records reinforce concerns that Iran continued to conduct weapons-related research after 2003 when U.S. intelligence agencies believe, Iranian leaders halted such experiments in response to international and domestic pressures.

Iranian foreign minister Ali-Akbar Salehi rejected the accusations, calling them baseless and fake documents.

Ayatollah Khatami stressed that in current situation it is natural to see the U.S. creates its desired atmosphere against Iran and utilizes the international organizations as a tool to dominate the IAEA at present juncture.

"Regional Islamic awakening movements were inspired by Iran's Islamic Revolution", he said.

Earlier, Head of the Atomic Energy Agency of Iran (AEOI) Fereidoun Abbassi stressed Tehran's continued progress in civilian nuclear technology despite the sanctions imposed on Iran by the West, and said the country is mulling over export of its nuclear technology and products to other countries, Fars News reported on Nov. 4.

Iran's refusal to abandon its nuclear activities has resulted in resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council in 4 rounds, as well as additional unilateral sanctions approved by the U.S. Congress and the foreign ministers of all EU countries, which were primarily directed against the banking, financial and energy sectors of Iran.

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