Iran accused of deception over nuclear arms

The U.S. and its Western allies bluntly accused Iran on Friday of deceiving the world on nuclear arms, as the United Nations atomic agency passed a new resolution criticizing Tehran's nuclear defiance.

Iran shot back that the West's allegations were based on fabricated American, Israeli, British and French intelligence fed to the International Atomic Energy Agency to try to discredit the Islamic Republic.

The unusually tough exchanges were bound to raise international tensions over Iran's nuclear programeven though the Western statements emphasized that the preferred solution was through diplomacy.

France warned Iran to defuse world fears that it is working on nuclear weapons or face "unprecedented" sanctions, while Washington dismissed "the hollowness" of Iranian claims, asserting that Iran must acknowledge its secret weapons development work. Britain, too, urged Iran to "address the grave concerns of the international community about its nuclear program."

Statements delivered to the IAEA's 35-nation board by the U.S., and on behalf of Germany, Britain and France, contained no mention of military actionan option that has not been discounted by either Israel or the U.S. if Tehran refuses to stop activities that can be used for nuclear weapons.

Still, they pulled no punches, drawing heavily on a recent IAEA report based on intelligence from more than 10 nations that concluded that some alleged clandestine activities by Iran could not be used for any other purpose than making nuclear arms.

"It is no longer within the bounds of credulity to claim that Iran's nuclear activities are solely peaceful," said Glyn Davies, the chief U.S. delegate to the IAEA, adding: "There is little doubt that Iranat the very least, wants to position itself for a nuclear weapons capability."

Russia and China support resolution

Delegates at the closed meeting easily passed a resolution based on the report urging Iran to end more than three years of stonewalling of IAEA attempts to probe the allegations, and to heed UN Security Council demands to stop other activities that could be used to make nuclear arms. Only Cuba and Ecuador voted against, and Indonesia abstained.

The resolution is milder than the West had hoped forbut it has the support of Russia and China, which Iran traditionally counts on to counter Western pressure.

A senior diplomat at the meeting told The Associated Press that Tehran was particularly unhappy with the success of the West's tactical movewatering down the language of the resolution in exchange for support from Moscow and Beijing.

The resolution did not threaten new UN sanctionsIran already is under four such sets of penalties. But French Foreign Minister Alain Juppwarned of new punitive measures if Tehran remains defiant.

"France urges Iran to heed the unanimous message addressed to her by the IAEA," he said in a statement. "If Iran refuses to comply with her international obligations ... we shall, along with all our partners, adopt sanctions on an unprecedented scale."

Russia's Foreign Ministry said Moscow shares "a growing concern about the current developments expressed in the resolution" but warned of "an outburst of political passions" that would hamper dialogue between Iran and world powers.

In opening words to the meeting, IAEA chief Yukiya Amano voiced concerns "regarding possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program," saying such work may extend into the present. He added his agency finds the information leading to such suspicions to be generally credible.

"The information indicates that Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device," he said. "It also indicates that, prior to the end of 2003, these activities took place under a structured program, and that some activities may still be ongoing."

Iran denies any interest in such weapons, says it is being targeted unfairly by the U.S. and its allies and that Amano is working for the Americans.

Chief Iranian delegate Ali Ashghar Soltanieh accused Amano of drawing up an "illegal, partial and unjustified and politicized report."

The report, he said, is based on "information provided by intelligence services of [the] U.S., U.K, France, [the] Israeli regime and some other Western countries, which are false, baseless and fabricated."

He also accused Amano of security leaks that expose his country's scientists and their families to the threat of assassination by the U.S. and Israel.

Such leaks, said Soltanieh, have made Iranian scientists "the targets for assassination by[the] Israeli regime and United State[s] of America intelligence services." He said Amano is to blame for any threat "against the lives of my fellow citizens."