U.N. says dead staffer not linked to Iran

VIENNA, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- U.N. nuclear officials discredited claims a nuclear engineer who died after a 17-story fall from the Vienna International Center was linked to talks with Iran.

Timothy Hampton died Tuesday when he fell from the 17th floor of the Vienna International Center. Several media reports last week stated Hampton had joined a U.N. team in negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, describing the circumstances of his death as suspicious.

In a letter to U.S. news magazine Newsweek, Annika Thunborg, a spokeswoman for the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, described Hampton as a process engineer for her organization, adding the CTBTO "never had any role in the Iran negotiations."

"Therefore, media reports linking the dead CTBTO staff member with the Iran talks are baseless and untrue," she stressed.

Anne Thomas, a spokeswoman for the United Nations in Vienna, told the Austrian Times that Hampton was discovered dead at the bottom of a stairwell Tuesday morning.

"Vienna police are investigating the incident and there is nothing else we can say," she said.

Western powers, Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency had considered a deal with Tehran that would give the country access to nuclear fuel, while making sure Iran does not move forward with nuclear weapons.

Iran, however, balked on the deal, saying it was a ploy to remove low-enriched uranium from the country.