Associated Press , Sept 17, 2008 – The U.N. nuclear monitoring agency on Tuesday shared intelligence purporting to show that Iran tried to refit its main long-distance missile to carry a nuclear payload, according to diplomats who attended the meeting.
Responding to the presentation to the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, a senior U.S. envoy said the information was compelling evidence of such work by the Islamic Republic. But his Iranian counterpart said the material shown was fabricated.
The briefing focused on an IAEA report circulated to the board members Monday that said Tehran stonewalled agency efforts to follow up on the alleged weapons program. The report also confirmed that Tehran was expanding its uranium enrichment activities _ which can make either nuclear fuel or warhead payloads _ despite three sets of U.N. Security Council sanctions.
Iranian officials say the new missile has a range of 1,250 miles _ more than 2,000 kilometers _ which would enable a strike on Israel and most of the Middle East.
The presentation “showed board members for the first time photographs and documents of work undertaken in Iran on the redesigning of the Shahab-3 missile to carry what would appear to be a nuclear weapon,” said Gregory L. Schulte, the chief U.S. representative to the IAEA. He said the senior IAEA official doing the briefing “told us that information they have is very credible.”
In Washington, the State Department said it would host a meeting of top negotiators from the five U.N. Security Council countries and Germany on Friday to discuss how to proceed in wake of Monday’s IAEA report, which was also sent to the council. Officials said the meeting would be held to prepare for a gathering of the six foreign ministers expected next week on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly session in New York.