The claim was another sign that Iran has hardened its stance
since the assassination a week ago of a prominent nuclear scientist and the
wounding of another. Iran is to hold talks on Monday and Tuesday in Geneva with
world powers trying to persuade it to curtail key elements of its nuclear work.
Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi said staff sent by the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)had engaged in espionage and the
Vienna-based agency must take responsibility for their actions. He did not
elaborate or identify the inspectors Iran was accusing.
Iran has increasingly complained in recent months about the
leaking of information gathered by the agency's inspectors to US officials and
other allies.
“Among the individuals the IAEA sends as so-called
inspectors, there are spies from intelligence services. The IAEA must be held
responsible for this,” state TV quoted Moslehi as saying.
Iran says Monday's killing of nuclear scientist Majid
Shahriari in a bomb attack and the wounding of another scientist in a separate
attack in Tehran was the part of a Western campaign to sabotage its nuclear
program.
According to Iran, that campaign has included the abduction
of Iranian scientists, the sale of faulty equipment and the planting of a
destructive computer worm known as Stuxnet, which briefly brought Iran's
uranium enrichment activity to a halt last month.
Iran's chief suspect is archenemy Israel, whose Mossad spy
agency has a long history of assassinating foes far beyond the country's
borders.
Moslehi again accused Israel's Mossad, Britain's MI6 and the
CIA of being behind the daring attacks.
Iran has also expressed its displeasure with IAEA chief
Yukiya Amano's report, issued this week, on its nuclear program. The report
said Iran had fewer centrifuges functioning than previously believed,
suggesting its uranium enrichment program was not progressing as fast as Iran
hoped.
Iran says the IAEA should just inspect the nuclear
facilities and not release details like how much uranium or how many
centrifuges it has.
The US and its allies suspect Iran's nuclear work is aimed
at producing weapons. Iran says it only wants to enrich uranium to make fuel
for power plants and not process it to the higher levels needed to make
weapons.
