Iran nuclear data found - claim

2005-11-13 17:34

Teheran/Washington - Teheran on Sunday denied an American news report that US authorities have seized a stolen laptop containing nuclear data indicating that Iran is developing atomic weapons.

"Iran does not save classified data on laptops and the recent claims are not only baseless but also made us laugh," foreign ministry spokesperson Hamid-Reza Assefi told reporters in Teheran.

In a report published on Sunday, the New York Times quoted US intelligence sources as saying that data discovered on a stolen laptop suggested that Iran had made significant advances in developing nuclear weapons.

The laptop computer has allegedly been in the hands of US authorities since 2004 and the files were reportedly shown to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in a July briefing.

The US has reportedly presented the computer files as proof that Iran is secretly attempting to build nuclear weapons despite Tehran's insistence that its nuclear technology is being developed for civilian purposes.

Against the backdrop of the US's faulty intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, foreign analysts have expressed doubt at the authenticity of the find, noting that the US has refused to reveal where the computer came from.

According to the New York Times report, the computer contained about 1 000 pages of studies on nuclear warheads, simulating and documenting experiments.

The report quoted US under-secretary of state for arms control and international security, Robert Joseph, as saying that the files were one of many indicators "that together lead to the conclusion that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons capability". - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA