US, Iran clash as UN opens key nuclear review

The United States accused Iran yesterday of constantly changing its story about its nuclear activities, and the head of the UN atomic watchdog rejected an Iranian call to stop investigating the country.

Iran said it was the victim of a "war of propaganda" over its nuclear programme, which it insists is purely for generating electricity but which Washington says is geared towards building an atomic bomb.

The clashing statements came as governors of the UN watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), opened a meeting at which they will vote on resolutions on Iran's and Libya's previously undeclared nuclear programmes.

Disagreement centred on Tehran's failure to mention, in a declaration late last year, that it had designs for advanced "P2" centrifuges capable of producing highly enriched uranium for use in a nuclear reactor or, potentially, an atomic weapon.

"I am seriously concerned that Iran's October declaration did not include any reference to its possession of P2 centrifuge designs and related (research and development), which in my view was a setback to Iran's stated policy of transparency," IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei told the IAEA board of governors.

Iranian ambassador Pirooz Hosseini said Iranian officials had been misquoted by the media last year as saying the October dossier was intended to be exhaustive.

"At the time... we were not obliged to announce everything," he told reporters.

US ambassador Kenneth Brill disputed Mr Hosseini's comments, saying Iran had pledged at the time that the declaration would be open and complete.