'No proof Iran could build atom bomb '

Russia, which is helping Iran build a nuclear power plant, said yesterday there was no proof Tehran had the technical capability to build a nuclear weapon at the present time.

However, Russia's Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev told a news conference at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that "much of (Iran's) nuclear technology is dual use (which) could be used in either a civilian or military" nuclear programme.

Rumyantsev said there was no proof Iran was secretly developing weapons and certainly no proof that it had the technical ability to make an atomic bomb at this point.

Washington, which labelled Iran a member of an "axis of evil" with pre-war Iraq and North Korea, accuses Iran of using its nuclear power programme as a front for developing an atomic bomb. Tehran denies this allegation.