TEHRAN, Dec 04, 2010 (AFP) - Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi accused the UN atomic watchdog on Saturday of including "spies" among the inspectors it sends to Iran to monitor the nation's controversial nuclear porgramme.
"The International Atomic Energy Agency has dispatched spies of foreign agencies among its inspectors and thus should be held accountable for this move," he was quoted by state-run television's website as saying.
Moslehi did not elaborate, except to say that "international organisations that should prevent such acts are not fulfilling their duties."
This is not the first time that Iranian officials have singled out nuclear inspectors.
In late June, Iran barred two UN atomic watchdog inspectors from the country over a "false" nuclear report.
And last month, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said world powers were against solving the controversy over Iran's nuclear programme and accused the IAEA of "giving information" to Washington.
Relations between Tehran and the Vienna-based watchdog have deteriorated since Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano took over as director general just over a year ago.
On December 2, Amano appeared to sidestep accusations of leaking key information on Iran to the United States, saying communicating with member states was part of the agency's day-to-day business.
He insisted that he was impartial, even though a separate WikiLeaks cable revealed that the United States believed he sided firmly with Washington on the Iran issue.
The IAEA has been investigating Iran's controversial atomic drive for around eight years, which Western countries believe is a covert effort to build a nuclear bomb, for eight years now.
Tehran vehemently rejects the accusation, insisting its nuclear activities are solely peaceful.
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Copyright AFP 2010.
