An informed source at the Iranian Embassy in France denied the report that a delegation of North Korean nuclear and missile experts visited a military site near Tehran in April.
"The report is based on wrong information and lies spread by the notorious and mercenary Monafeqin group (referring to the Mojahedin-e-Khalq terrorist group)," IRNA on Friday quoted the diplomat as saying. "It can be predicted that more such fabricated reports will be published as we get closer to final stages of the talks (with the major powers on a final nuclear deal) and the chance of reaching an agreement increases," the source added.
Citing information from sources inside Iran, the so-called National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which is affiliated with the banned Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization, claimed on Thursday that a seven-person North Korean Defense Ministry team was in Iran during the last week of April, Reuters reported. This was the third time in 2015 that North Koreans had been to Iran and a nine-person delegation was due to return in June, the Paris-based NCRI claimed, adding, "The delegates included nuclear experts, nuclear warhead experts and experts in various elements of ballistic missiles including guidance systems."
In Washington, the State Department said it was examining the claims but had been unable to confirm them. "These allegations, we're taking them seriously," State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke told reporters. "We have not been able to verify them thus far."
