Iran official criticizes new UN nuke observatory

AP: An Iranian nuclear official says the purpose of a U.N. warning station set up in Turkmenistan near the border with Iran is "espionage." The Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian nuclear official says the purpose of a U.N. warning station set up in Turkmenistan near the border with Iran is "espionage."

The U.N. announced last week the new nuclear warning station — one of dozens such observatories worldwide that monitor for seismic activity and radioactivity.

The station, just miles from the Iranian border, can detect extremely weak blasts and even shock waves from nuclear experiments.

The Iranian official, Abolfazl Zohrehvand, says the station will only give world powers an opportunity to spy on Iran. Zohrehvand, an adviser to Iran's nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, spoke on Wednesday to state IRNA news agency.

The West worries Tehran seeks to build a nuclear weapon, a charge Iran denies.