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Powell Iran Nuclear Allegations Based on Unverified, Single Source, Officials Say
The allegations by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell that Iran is trying to prepare missiles to carry nuclear warheads came from a single source and has not been verified, two U.S. officials told the Washington Post yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 18). A “walk-in” source submitted more than 1,000 pages of alleged Iranian drawings and technical documents earlier this month to U.S. intelligence, according to one official with access to the material. The information included a nuclear warhead design and modifications to enable Iranian ballistic missiles to deliver a nuclear strike. The official added that the CIA remains uncertain of the documents’ authenticity. Officials interviewed by the Post did not know the identity of the source. The information was presented to Powell and other Cabinet members last week, according to the Post. The Bush administration told European diplomats, who expressed concern that Powell may have misspoken in releasing the unverified information, sources said. Powell stands by his statement, a spokesman said yesterday. “The secretary did not misspeak,” said State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli, adding that Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, “saw the same information.” (Dafna Linzer, Washington Post, Nov. 19). Some administration officials “were surprised he went public on something that was weak and, because it was weak, was not supposed to be used,” a source told the Los Angeles Times. A senior State Department official yesterday denied that Powell’s comments were tied to discussions next week of Iran’s nuclear program during the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors meeting in Vienna. Given his now-discredited 2003 presentation to the U.N. Security Council on Iraq’s WMD program, some officials expressed surprise that Powell was not more careful in discussing the allegations against Iran. “I was surprised the administration put him out there or he put himself out there on this,” said David Kay, the former head of the U.S. weapons search team in Iraq. “I thought if there was anyone in the administration that had been sufficiently burned by such sources, it would be Powell.” U.S. Representatives Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) wrote to Powell requesting an assessment for Congress of Iran’s nuclear program and delivery systems. They also demanded Washington provide IAEA weapons inspectors “full access to the intelligence that forms the basis for any conclusion that Iran is actively pursuing a nuclear weapons program.” (Efron/Marshall/Drogin, Los Angeles Times, Nov. 19). Although Powell is scheduled to attend a conference Monday in Egypt that is expected to include Iranian diplomats, the Bush administration is not considering direct talks with Iran, according to the Associated Press. Asked about the possibility that Powell would discuss the administration’s concerns with Iran, Ereli said, “This is a purely speculative question.” “I am not aware that that possibility is being considered,” he added (Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Nov. 19). Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi yesterday denied Iran was developing nuclear weapons and missiles to carry nuclear warheads, the Associated Press reported. “The claims are raised to destroy the positive atmosphere that resulted from the Paris agreement,” Asefi told the Islamic Republic News Agency, referring to the agreement Iran reached with Germany, France and the United Kingdom to suspend uranium enrichment activities (Associated Press/news.com.au, Nov. 18). The three European nations are preparing a resolution on Iran for next week’s meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors, diplomats said yesterday. “They are preparing a resolution that will deal with the suspension of the enrichment program and verification of the suspension by the IAEA,” a Western diplomat close to the Iran-EU negotiations told Reuters. The draft resolution is to be submitted to the board on Nov. 25, according to Reuters. “It will be ... in line with the report of (IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei),” the diplomat said. The Bush administration wants the resolution to include a “trigger mechanism” under which Iran would be referred to the U.N. Security Council if it resumes enrichment activities or is found to be concealing further nuclear work (Louis Charbonneu, Reuters, Nov. 18). Meanwhile, the head of Russia’s security council said yesterday that Russia would continue providing assistance to Iran for civilian nuclear work, AP reported. “Russia plans to continue to play an active role in developing Iran’s peaceful nuclear power sector in compliance with its appropriate international obligations,” said Igor Ivanov, after speaking by telephone with Hassan Rohani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. “Russia hopes that the agreement between Iran and the EU will be implemented in full, which will help resolve the dispute surrounding Iran’s nuclear program,” he added (Associated Press/The Age (Australia), Nov. 18).
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