Iran has disrupted plots by foreign spies to recruit its nuclear experts and stopped sabotage attempts through faulty foreign equipment supplied for its facilities, the deputy head of the Islamic Republic's nuclear department said.
The comments by Asghar Zarean, who is in charge of security for Iran's nuclear programme, came during a visit by an Associated Press team to Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation in Tehran organised by state officials.
It also comes as Iran continues negotiations with world powers over its contested nuclear programme and after authorities said they shot down a purported Israeli drone near one of its atomic facilities.
"We aim to raise awareness about the enemy, who is more hostile to us every day," Zarean said in an interview yesterday, without naming the countries that authorities believe are behind the sabotage and the recruitment effort.
Iran's nuclear programme has been the target of sabotage in the past. In 2010, the so-called Stuxnet virus temporarily disrupted operation of thousands of centrifuges, key components in nuclear fuel production, at Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment facility.
Iran says it and other computer virus attacks are part of a concerted effort by Israel, the US and their allies to undermine its nuclear programme through covert operations.
Israel has never commented on the allegations but is widely believed to have been involved in the Stuxnet attack.
In the interview yesterday, Zarean said foreign intelligence agencies targeted the experts when they travelled abroad and that the experts informed their superiors about the contact when they returned home.
He did not elaborate on number of the attempts and destinations where the alleged contact occurred.
Zarean also showed AP journalists parts and equipment, including modems and pumps, which he said had been deliberately tampered with to sabotage Iran's nuclear programme.
He described the items on display, which he said had been manufactured in Western and Asian countries, as only a small sample of Western sabotage.
Experts also demonstrated what they described as a real-time monitoring system that detects malware and cyberattacks on its nuclear programme, without elaborating on its abilities.
AP journalists weren't allowed to tour a nearby nuclear research reactor that went online with American help in 1967 -- before Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution strained ties between the two countries.
The US and its allies fears Iran's nuclear programme could allow it to build atomic weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, like generating electricity and medical research.
