Iran Denies Claims IAEA Found ‘Traces’ of Uranium at Unnamed Site

Allegation is based on Israel accusing Iran of having secret warehouse

Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement Sunday denies reports that the IAEA had found traces of uranium at an unnamed site inside Iran. Putatively, the IAEA told nations this as a meeting last week, but offered no details. Iran says no such allegation was made.

This whole narrative is based on Israel having accused Iran of having a secret nuclear warehouse at some point, with diplomats saying they believe the rumors were referring to this site, even though the IAEA did not name the site in question, or even confirm the traces publicly. Iran accused Israel of trying to reopen a long-closed file on Iran’s program, calling it a “trap.”

Unsurprisingly, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued statements accusing Iran of having “undeclared radioactive material” offering no evidence for that accusation, but seemingly resting it on the same rumors swirling around Israeli claims.

Pompeo’s statement centered not just on attacking Iran and the nuclear deal, but criticizing former Secretary of State John Kerry, accusing him of making the nuclear deal fraudulently.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.