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Iran, unfazed by nuclear storm, stresses close ties with Pakistan

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Feb 8, IRNA -- Iran on Sunday dismissed media accounts of 
nuclear leaks by Pakistani scientists to Tehran, stressing that the 
Islamic Republic had acquired certain equipment from middlemen. 
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi also reiterated the 
importance which Tehran attaches to its ties with Islamabad which has 
been rocked by a televised confession by the father of Pakistan`s 
nuclear program, admitting nuclear proliferation. 
"Pakistan`s worries are Iran`s worries, but what is being brought 
up in the media is not true," he told reporters at a weekly press 
briefing. 
"The Islamic Republic has bought certain parts from the middlemen 
whose names have been reported to the International Atomic Energy 
Agency (IAEA)," Asefi added. 
"It is evident that the Islamic Republic is not aware of what is 
going on behind the scene and we have just reported to the 
International Atomic Energy Agency the names of the middlemen from 
whom we bought the parts," he added. 
Asefi stressed, "Pakistan is among the Islamic Republic`s friends 
and we attach enormous importance to ties with Pakistan." 
Father of Pakistan`s nuclear program, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan 
confessed on television last Wednesday that he was involved in 
unauthorized transfer of nuclear secrets outside Pakistan. 
The scientist, a hero to many Pakistanis, was pardoned by 
President General Pervez Musharraf. 
However, a decision to remove Dr Qadeer Khan as advisor to the 
prime minister and to make him appear on TV triggered widespread anger
across the nation. 
BH/AH/210 
End