U.S. Report on Iran Is ‘Dishonest,’ Letter Says

VIENNA — A recent U.S. House of Representatives report on Iran’s nuclear capability is “outrageous and dishonest” in trying to make a case that Tehran’s program is geared toward making weapons, a senior official of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency said.

A letter from the International Atomic Energy Agency, a copy of which was obtained by the Associated Press on Thursday, said the report was wrong to say that Iran was making weapons-grade uranium.

Iran has produced only small quantities of enriched material, at levels far below that used for nuclear weapons, said the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA.

The letter, first disclosed by the Washington Post, also said the report erroneously claimed IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei had removed a senior nuclear inspector from the investigative team “for concluding that the purpose of Iran’s nuclear program is to construct weapons.”

The inspector was sidelined at Tehran’s request, as allowed under agreements that govern all nations’ relationships with the agency, the letter said.

“In addition,” the letter notes, “the report contains an outrageous and dishonest suggestion that such removal might have been for not having adhered to an unstated IAEA policy barring IAEA officials from telling the whole truth about the Iranian nuclear program.”

An IAEA official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the letter, said it was written “to set the record straight.”

Jamal Ware, a spokesman for the House committee that wrote the report, confirmed the panel had received the letter, and said its chairman had referred it to Reps. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and Rush D. Holt (D-N.J.) for review and a possible response.

“If you read the report, it’s very clear that what it is saying is that Iran is working to develop the capability to enrich uranium to weapons grade, not that they have done so,” Ware said.