Bloomberg: The United Nations nuclear agency called parts of a Congressional report which says the U.S. needs better intelligence about Iran’s nuclear program “outrageous and dishonest.” By Jonathan Tirone
Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) — The United Nations nuclear agency called parts of a Congressional report which says the U.S. needs better intelligence about Iran’s nuclear program “outrageous and dishonest.”
The report contains “erroneous, misleading and unsubstantiated information,” reads the Sept. 12 International Atomic Energy Agency letter addressed to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Peter Hoekstra, a Republican Congressman from Michigan. The letter urged the committee to check its facts in the future.
“Recognizing Iran as a Strategic Threat: An Intelligence Challenge for the United States,” was published by the Committee on Aug. 23. Its author, Frederick Fleitz, was a senior adviser to the U.S.’s UN ambassador, John Bolton, until 2005.
The UN agency’s letter, drafted by External Relations Director Vilmos Cserveny, condemned the report’s insinuation that nuclear inspectors were following “unstated IAEA policy” of suppressing information about Iran’s atomic work. A copy of the letter was obtained by Bloomberg News.
The IAEA letter also drew attention to factual errors in the House report, including assertions that Iran is producing “weapons-grade” uranium.
“Weapons-grade is commonly used to refer to uranium enriched to the order of 90 percent,” the letter said. Iran has enriched uranium to a 3.6 percent level, according to the IAEA.
