U.S., allies push IAEA to air Iran details

TEHRAN, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. and European officials are pushing the U.N. nuclear watchdog to publish evidence they say points to Iran's push to build a nuclear weapon, officials said.

The request, part of an effort to build a case for more sanctions against Iran, has touched off a debate within the International Atomic Energy Agency on how to confront the recalcitrant Iran, which has refused for years to answer questions about documents and files hinting of military-led efforts to design a nuclear weapon, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Iran countered that the documents -- many from U.S., Israeli and European intelligence services -- contain falsehoods. The IAEA, meanwhile, has studied the information and determined it's likely true, current and former officials said.

IAEA officials said outgoing IAEA Director Mohammed ElBaradei has resisted releasing the information, expressing concern publication would give an appearance of bias toward the West. ElBaradei, who has argued to allow Iran to maintain a token capacity to produce uranium under strict inspection, said the evidence does not create an airtight case against Iran.

A European diplomat familiar with the agency's deliberations told the Times the United States, Britain, France and Germany were pressing the agency to reveal the strongest information it had gathered.

"There's multilateral activity under way to ramp up pressure on Iran," the official said. "It's not just Israel."

The agency's next report on Iran is expected to be released this week, officials said.