Iran trawls Europe for nuclear technology: report

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has been combing Europe and ex-Soviet states for materials and expertise of potential use in making atom bombs, says a leaked intelligence report casting doubt on diplomacy to ease a crisis over Tehran's nuclear drive.

The intelligence assessment suggested the black market in nuclear technology remained strong and elusive despite the 2004 downfall of Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, who ran an international atomic smuggling network.

Asked about the report, leaked to Britain's Guardian newspaper, diplomats close to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) cautioned that it offered no evidence Iran was obtaining products of exclusive use in building nuclear weapons.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said the Guardian story was designed to "negatively affect Iran's transparent measures and its cooperation with the IAEA."

Iran says it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity and denies Western accusations that it is seeking nuclear weapons. Years of IAEA inquiries have unearthed no clear proof of this.

The report was confirmed in parts by a European diplomat who had seen a summary -- a day after Iran said it would end a suspension of atomic fuel research and development soon.

"This leak is a reaction to yesterday," said the diplomat, suggesting it could revive momentum in an EU-U.S. push to have the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.

British, French, German and Belgian agencies pooled findings in a 55-page report used to brief European Union governments, three of which are conducting talks with Iran in an effort to rein in its nuclear fuel development drive.

The intelligence document, dated July 1, 2005, said a large and sophisticated web of Iranian straw companies, academic institutes and middlemen were focusing on Europe and ex-Soviet republics to acquire nuclear technology and know-how.

"The names of the Iranian companies change every month. Europe is the ideal place for them because it has so many medium- and small-sized companies highly specialized in relevant fields," said the European diplomat.

"They are also beyond state controls, and lack the understanding that their products, such as medical equipment, have a 'dual use' for both civilian and military applications."

'SABOTAGE'

Asefi accused Iran's enemies, including Israel, of planting such stories in the media.

"It's obvious that poisoning and contaminating the international atmosphere and disseminating false information is in accordance with the wishes of those who have sabotaged our process from the very start," the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.

"Such approaches are aimed at pressuring the Islamic Republic of Iran, but Iran will continue its justice-seeking approach to preserve the right of the Iranian nation to develop peaceful nuclear technology," he added.

Iran's insistence on enriching uranium, key element in both civilian nuclear reactors and nuclear bombs, on its soil after a track record of hiding atomic work from U.N. inspectors has stoked the suspicions of the European Union and United States.

Western dismay has been heightened by remarks by Iran's president that Israel should be "wiped off the map."

The intelligence document said Russia, which is building Iran's first nuclear reactor, and other ex-Soviet republics were being targeted by Iranian operatives for their nuclear scientists, now often poorly paid or out of work.

The Guardian and the diplomat said the intelligence report listed scores of Iranian firms, institutes, academic bodies and state offices said to be involved in research, development and procurement for nuclear, biological and chemical arms.

It also said Syria, Pakistan and North Korea were part of a global black market in illicit weapons parts.

"(At first glance), this report is rather surprising since there's been this assumption that nuclear network activity had abated considerably since the confessions of AQ Khan," said a diplomat close to the IAEA.

The document also detailed Tehran's attempts to build a missile capable of reaching Israel and southern Europe, according to the Guardian and the European diplomat.

Diplomats said on Tuesday Iran's stated intention to resume atomic fuel research and development on January 9 dealt a blow to EU efforts to talk Iran out of its uranium enrichment drive.

A vote on Security Council referral could be held at a meeting of the IAEA's 35-nation governing board on March 6.