IAEA: No nuclear material missing in Iran

The International Atomic Energy Agency has denied reports that enriched uranium has disappeared from Iran's nuclear facility in Isfahan. "The article, entitled 'Iran renews nuclear weapons development' published in [Friday's] Daily Telegraph by Con Coughlin and Tim butcher is fictitious," IAEA Spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said in a statement. "IAEA inspectors have no indication that any nuclear material is missing from the plant," reads the statement. The September 12 article alleges that nuclear material equivalent to that of six atomic bombs have disappeared from Isfahan and were believed to have been relocated to covert installations spotted by American spy satellites. "The inspectors only have limited access at Isfahan, and it looks as though Iranian officials have removed significant quantities of UF6 at a stage in the process that is not being monitored," the Daily Telegraph quoted an unnamed nuclear official as saying. The recent IAEA statement, however, confirms that IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei's report on Iran will show that "all nuclear material at the Uranium Conversion Facility in Isfahan remains under Agency containment and surveillance

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