Iran demands to see secret nuclear weapons ‘proof’

Tehran: Iran said on Wednesday it would not accept long-standing allegations that its nuclear programme once had a military dimension without seeing the secret documents on which the charges are based.

“We will not accept any of the (International Atomic Energy) Agency allegations unless its documents are proven and the person who presented them clarifies on what basis we have been accused,” Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.

“We told the agency it is not acceptable that you accuse us based on a piece of torn paper submitted by some people.”

The IAEA has said documents showing a possible military dimension to Iran’s nuclear programme were presented to it in 2005 by a “member state” and “participants in a clandestine nuclear supply network.”

The documents are widely believed to have been supplied by the United States, which suspects Iran of covertly seeking nuclear weapons, charges denied by Tehran.

“The authenticity of each allegation should be proven first, then the person who submitted it to the agency should give us the genuine document. When we are assured of the authenticity, then we can talk to the agency,” Salehi said.

In May 2008, Iran submitted a 117-page assessment that dismissed the allegations as being based on “forged” documents and “fabricated” data.

Iran reached a interim agreement with world powers in November in which it agreed to curb its nuclear activities for six months in exchange for limited sanctions relief, and the two sides plan to resume talks next week on a comprehensive accord.

Iran also reached a deal over the weekend with the IAEA in which it agreed to further safeguards to promote transparency, including a promise to clarify its stated need for a specific type of detonator that can be used to spark chain nuclear reactions.

Iran said it needed the detonator for conventional military purposes.

It appeared to be the first time in years that Tehran had agreed to address the military-related allegations, most of which concern alleged activities prior to 2003.