Sir, – In an article titled “Israeli minister welcomes report of blast at nuclear plant” (World News, January 28th), the false allegation that “Venezuela was flying uranium and various components intended for use in nuclear weapons to Tehran” is repeated.
The Venezuelan government categorically denies this accusation. This claim, which dates back to 2009, has been repeated sporadically in the press without any supporting evidence whatsoever. When an allegation of this seriousness is made, media organisations have an ethical obligation to provide solid evidence. In the absence of solid evidence, these allegations should be treated with the circumspection they deserve.
Moreover, according to an article published in Time Magazine titled “Chávez to Iran: How About Some Uranium?” ( October 8th, 2009), uranium-resources specialists at the federal US Geological Survey and the American Uranium Corp have repeatedly dismissed these claims, citing a lack of evidence that uranium has ever occurred in Venezuela and concluding that it is highly unlikely that Venezuela is mining uranium or supplying it to a third party. – Yours, etc,