Thaindian News

Tehran, Nov 7 (IANS) A senior member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khatami, said Monday that the United States is using the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as a tool against Iran.

Khatami said “the United States is using international organizations, including IAEA, as tools” to pressure Iran over its nuclear program, Xinhua reported, citing the state IRIB TV website.

Khatami, also the leader of Tehran’s Friday prayers, made the remarks after he led Tehran’s Eid ul-Zuha prayers.

If the IAEA is turned into a tool in the hands of the US against Iran, it will discredit itself, he was quoted as saying.

Khatami made the remarks referring to the United Nations nuclear supervision agency IAEA’s report on Iran’s nuclear programme which is expected to be released this week.

The report is likely to hint at Iran’s engagement in nuclear weapons work despite UN sanctions.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano had said at the UN General Assembly that while it was too early to make conclusions just yet, the report might possibly exacerbate Middle East tensions.

Amano urged Iran to cooperate with the IAEA to prove that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

Khatami said the US is trying to mount pressure on Iran by creating a negative atmosphere and leveling accusations against Tehran, the local satellite Press TV reported.

The documents of the IAEA, which might also include Iran’s missile program, are “fake,” the official IRNA news agency reported him as saying

Khatami called on Amano “not to defame the nuclear watchdog by unveiling false documents,” warning that Iran will give a crushing response to any “plots” against the country.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said earlier that the documents of the IAEA on its missile programme are “unfounded and baseless.”

Salehi also called the content of documents like an “imaginary” story and “fabricated,” adding that they are not based on facts.

Also, a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts Seyyed Mahmoud Alavi warned against the harangue by the US and Israel before the release of the IAEA report.

Recent tension between Iran and the West over Iran’s sensitive nuclear programme has raised concerns that the US and Israel may consider a possible military strike on Iran’s nuclear sites.

Tehran repeatedly insisted on “peaceful” aspect of its nuclear programme, but the United States and its western allies worry that Iran would use the uranium enrichment to make nuclear weapons.