Iran bars 2 U.N. inspectors

Tehran: Tehran said on Monday it had banned two U.N. nuclear inspectors from entering the country because they had leaked “false” information about Iran's disputed nuclear programme.

The ban is the latest twist in Iran's deepening tussle with the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency and the West over its nuclear programme. The United States and its allies warn that Iran's programme is geared toward making nuclear weapons.

Tehran denies the charge saying its nuclear activities are only for peaceful purposes like power generation.

The IAEA report in question stated that in January Iran announced it had conducted certain experiments to purify uranium, which could theoretically be used to produce a nuclear warhead. Iran then denied the experiments had taken place a few months later.

Experiments

When the inspectors in May visited the Jaber Ibn Hayan Multipurpose Research Laboratory in Tehran, where the alleged high temperature pyroprocessing experiments were conducted, they said the equipment involved had been removed.

The AP reported the IAEA's concerns in May, citing unnamed diplomats. — AP