UN nuclear body fears Iran is making warhead

THE United Nations nuclear agency has confirmed concerns that Iran may currently be working on making a nuclear warhead.

The announcement indicates for the first time that Tehran had either resumed such work or never stopped.

The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency appeared to put the UN nuclear monitor on the side of Germany, France, Britain and Israel.

These and other United States allies have disputed the conclusions of a US intelligence assessment published three years ago that said Tehran appeared to have suspended such work in 2003.

The US assessment itself may be revised and is being re-examined by American intelligence agencies.

While US officials continue to say the 2007 conclusion was valid at the time, they have not ruled out the possibility that Tehran resumed such work.

Iran denies any interest in developing nuclear arms.

Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the IAEA, told the official IRNA news agency that the report "verified the peaceful, nonmilitary nature of Iran's nuclear activities".

But in Washington, US state department spokesman PJ Crowley said the findings were consistent with what secretary of state Hillary Clinton has been saying "on our ongoing concerns about Iran's activities".