Iranian author criticizes IAEA report

TEHRAN, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- A U.N. report on Iran's nuclear program contains little new information, an Iranian author said Wednesday.

In an interview on Press TV, Kaveh Afrasiabi, the author of "Iran's Nuclear Program: Debating Facts versus Fiction," said there are "small novelties," like references to a Ukrainian nuclear scientist who worked in Iran. But he said the report did not include any claims the scientist said anything "outrageous" about the Iranian nuclear program.

Iranian officials say the report released this week by the International Atomic Energy Agency is "politically motivated" and designed to convince the U.N. Security Council to approve sanctions. They also say the United States put pressure on the IAEA.

"Honestly, I am surprised by the absence of the big surprises in it because we have seen most of what is stated here in the previous reports -- particularly the Sept. 2 report by the IAEA chief," Afrasiabi said.

He suggested the report could undermine the credibility of the IAEA and its director general, Yukiya Amano.

Iran says its nuclear program is aimed at power generation, not weapons development. The IAEA report indicated Iran tried to develop a nuclear bomb, and may still be trying to do so. The report did not say how long it would take for Iran to produce a nuclear weapon, but said the country, in 2008 and 2009, had created computer models of nuclear explosions and conducted trials on nuclear triggers.