Tests Support Iran’s Claims on Uranium

U.N. nuclear agency tests have concluded that traces of highly enriched uranium on centrifuge parts were from imported equipment, rather than from any enrichment activities by Iran, a senior Western diplomat said Saturday.

The findings support Iran’s claims that the material entered the country with centrifuge parts provided by Pakistan. The diplomat who confirmed the results spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.

“The source of contamination was not related to Iran,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi. “We are sure the source is not internal.”

The United States has alleged that Tehran produced the material and that the particles are evidence that Iran has experimented with producing highly enriched uranium, which is used in nuclear weapons only.

The traces were found in 2003 on centrifuges in the city of Natanz and raised concerns about the motives behind Iran’s nuclear activities.

Iran has insisted that it is interested only in processing low-enriched uranium to generate electricity.

The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has been testing centrifuge parts provided by Pakistan as well as uranium found on centrifuges bought by Iran on the black market.

Both the agency and the White House declined to comment on the findings.