TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The deputy head of Iran's nuclear department has told The Associated Press that the Islamic Republic has disrupted plots by foreign spies to recruit its nuclear experts.
Asghar Zarean, who is in charge of security for Iran's nuclear program, said foreign intelligence agencies targeted the experts when they traveled abroad. He did not elaborate.
His comments came Monday during a visit by an AP team to a nuclear research reactor in Tehran that went online with American help in 1967 — before Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution strained ties between the two countries.
During the visit, officials showed the AP parts and equipment, including modems and pumps, which they said had been deliberately tampered with to sabotage Iran's contested nuclear program. Iran continues to negotiate with world powers over its program.