The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has formally protested to a US House intelligence committee and the American government over a staff report it described as containing false and misleading claims about Iran's nuclear activities. The agency's letter was addressed to Peter Hoekstra, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
A central dispute concerns uranium enrichment levels. The congressional report claimed Iran was enriching uranium to weapons-grade concentrations, while the IAEA says Iran's enrichment has reached only 3.6 percent, well short of the roughly 90 percent required for nuclear weapons.
The IAEA letter also strongly rejected the report's suggestion that agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei had removed a senior inspector, Chris Charlier, for pressing Iran too hard. Officials clarified that Charlier remains head of the Iran investigation section, but that the agency stopped seeking a visa for him after Iranian objections, a standard practice under Non-Proliferation Treaty safeguards agreements.
A diplomat close to the IAEA suggested the congressional report was an effort by hardliners to weaken Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's diplomatic approach toward Iran. IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said the agency needed to correct the record and defend its integrity.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in September 2006, in its own words.