Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

FM: Enemies attempt to manufacture evidence to deprive Iran of its nuclear right

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

United Nations, New York, March 25, IRNA
Nuclear-Mottaki-UNSC
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that to achieve the politically motivated and unlawful goal of depriving Iran of its inalienable right to nuclear technology, attempts have been made to manufacture evidence.

Mottaki made the remark at the United Nations Security meeting in New York on Saturday night.

He pointed to a recent report in an American newspaper that most US intelligence shared with the UN nuclear watchdog has proved inaccurate and none has led to significant discoveries inside Iran.

The minister said that the same article also quotes a senior IAEA official as saying "since 2002, pretty much all the intelligence that has come to us has proved to be wrong."

Mottaki noted that however, in order to enable the IAEA to reach this conclusion, Iran had to implement transparency measures outside all IAEA safeguard agreements and protocols and allow the IAEA inspectors over 20 visits to its sensitive military sites which had no connection whatsoever to its nuclear program.

"Can any member of this Council accept to do likewise? Are permanent members of UNSC even prepared to simply inform the world community of the number of centrifuges they own?" he asked.

Mottaki said, that in fact, over the last four years, the IAEA has conducted more than 2,100 person-days of scrutiny of all Iranian nuclear facilities.

"All reports by the IAEA since November 2003 have been indicative of the peaceful nature of Iranian nuclear program. The Agency confirmed in 2003, and maintained since then that `to date, there is no evidence that the previously undeclared nuclear material and activities were related to a nuclear weapons program.'

"On several occasions, the Agency concluded that all the declared nuclear material in Iran has been accounted for, and therefore such material has not been diverted to prohibited activities," he added.

The minister said that as recently as February 2007, the IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei stated in his report that pursuant to its NPT Safeguards Agreement, Iran has been providing the agency with access to declared nuclear material and facilities, and has provided the required nuclear material accountancy reports in connection with such material and facilities.

"The same report also indicates that the IAEA is able to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran.

"He also indicated to the Board of Governors on March 5, 2007 that the agency has seen no `industrial capacity to produce weapons - usable nuclear material, which is an important consideration in assessing the risk," added Mottaki.

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