The International Atomic Energy Agency has denied reports that enriched uranium has disappeared from Iran's nuclear facility in Isfahan.

"The article, entitled 'Iran renews nuclear weapons development' published in [Friday's] Daily Telegraph by Con Coughlin and Tim butcher is fictitious," IAEA Spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said in a statement.

"IAEA inspectors have no indication that any nuclear material is missing from the plant," reads the statement.

The September 12 article alleges that nuclear material equivalent to that of six atomic bombs have disappeared from Isfahan and were believed to have been relocated to covert installations spotted by American spy satellites.

"The inspectors only have limited access at Isfahan, and it looks as though Iranian officials have removed significant quantities of UF6 at a stage in the process that is not being monitored," the Daily Telegraph quoted an unnamed nuclear official as saying.

The recent IAEA statement, however, confirms that IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei's report on Iran will show that "all nuclear material at the Uranium Conversion Facility in Isfahan remains under Agency containment and surveillance".

The statement also reveals a contradiction in the British daily's article, which claimed that Iran enriches uranium in Isfahan.

"Uranium is not enriched at Isfahan as the Telegraph story states but at the fuel enrichment plant in Natanz," the IAEA statement reads.

The revelation comes as Israel and the United States have stepped up their efforts to portray Iran as a threat to world stability.

Israeli President Shimon Peres said in early September that exercising a military option against Iran's nuclear program would be 'an error', but Tel Aviv is prepared for one.

His remarks came after reports surfaced that Israel conducted a military maneuver over the eastern Mediterranean and Greece in early June, according to Pentagon officials, in preparation for a war against Iran.

In response to US and Israeli threats, Iranian military officials have warned that the country would not hesitate in taking the necessary measures to protect its sovereignty if attacked.

On September 8, Tehran launched three-day military maneuvers, testing the country's new weapons systems and defense plans.

MT/AA/BGH