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KENNETH P. VOGEL
Senior White House adviser David Axelrod on Sunday dismissed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's claim that the U.S. government created documents that purport to show that Iran is working to test a key component of a nuclear bomb.
Confronted last week with a Financial Times report asserting that Iranian intelligence documents detailed plans to test a neutron initiator, Ahmadinejad claimed the documents were fabricated by the U.S.
But Axelrod called the claim "nonsense."
In an appearance on ABC's "This Week," Axelrod did not reject the idea of the U.S. pursuing sanctions against Iran if it does not comply with international demands to demonstrate by the end of the year that its nuclear program is for energy production purposes and not for weapons.
"Plainly, there are going to be consequences if they don't," Axelrod said. "Nobody has any illusions about what the intent of the Iranian government is. And we've given them an opportunity to prove otherwise by allowing them to ship their nuclear material out to be reprocessed for peaceful use."
