Associated Press Pulls Iran Nuke Story after Exposé

Local Editor, 10-02-2010

On Tuesday morning, AP had pulled a story it had published on the Iranian nuclear program saying Iran was secretly planning to build a nuclear weapon.

The AP story, titled "Iran moves closer to nuke warhead capacity", came out as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered Uranium enrichment at 20% to meet the country's urgent medical needs. The article also claimed that Iran had informed the IAEA that it "will increase its ability to make nuclear warheads".

The original story by AP was carried by a wide variety of media, flaming an Iran war frenzy. The article was described by Antiwar editor Jason Ditz as "inaccurate and misleading". The editor had posted a strong response to the AP story, citing all irrelevancies and inaccuracies the AP story contained, branding it a "an allegation which is not only unsupported by fact but even goes beyond the ample bellicose Western statements quoted in the piece."

The Associated Press later recalled the story without explanation, replacing it with another much less inflammatory story written by a different author.

To read the article responding to the AP accusation, click here.