Iran says nuke agency guilty of false reporting on Tehran’s activities

Iran accuses nuclear agency of false reporting

VIENNA — A senior Iranian envoy says the U.N. nuclear monitor is guilty of false reporting on Tehran’s atomic activities.

Ali Ashgar Soltanieh says the International Atomic Energy Agency is wrong in saying equipment is missing from a laboratory that the IAEA says was used for undeclared nuclear experiments.

Diplomats say the activity — pyroprocessing — could be used to purify uranium metal used in a nuclear warhead.

Soltanieh, Tehran’s chief IAEA delegate, said Wednesday his country will ask for a formal correction from the agency.

The IAEA had no formal comment. But an agency official familiar with the report says the IAEA stands by its findings. The official asked for anonymity, citing the agency’s decision not to comment for now on the issue.