US official says Iran does not have data to build a nuclear bomb

Washington, Oct.5 (ANI): US National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. James Jones has refuted a newly uncovered IAEA report that suggests Iran has the information needed to build a nuclear bomb.

According to a Christian Science Monitor report, the senior US security official Sunday disagreed with the assessment that Iran now knows how to make a nuclear bomb.

According to the Sunday New York Times, a secret International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report says that Iran has "sufficient information to be able to design and produce a workable" atom bomb.

US National Security Adviser James Jones, however, disputed the IAEA's findings.

Asked on CNN's "State of the Union" if Iran has the data to make a nuclear bomb, he said: "No, we stand by the reports that we've put out."

Meanwhile, Mohammed ElBaradei, head of the IAEA, has sought to emphasize progress in talks with Iran about its nuclear program.

In a visit to Tehran, he said: "I see that we are shifting gears from confrontation into transparency and cooperation."

In recent days, Iran has agreed to let IAEA inspectors visit its previously secret site near Qom on October 25. It has also said that it is open to the idea of allowing Russia to enrich a stockpile of uranium that, international inspectors fear, could otherwise secretly be repurposed for weapons. In addition, Iran has agreed to further talks this month.

Jones agreed that Iran has taken positive steps. "What's happened with regard to Iran in the last couple of weeks has been very significant," he said. (ANI)