CRI听力：Iran Protests against US "Espionage"

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says his country has sent a formal protest note to Washington about the US "spying" on Iran's nuclear program.

Mottaki made the comment on Saturday in the wake of the latest US intelligence report on the Iranian nuclear program.

"The day the report was issued, the foreign ministry submitted a formal note of protest and demanded an explanation over espionage activities taking place."

He has also accused the report of claiming that Iran had a nuclear weapons program before 2003.

"Seventy percent of US intelligence report is true and positive and the remaining thirty percent, in which they claim that Iran had a nuclear weapon program before 2003 is wrong. They refused to confess about this thirty percent because they did not want to lose all their reputation or for similar reasons."

The intelligence report says Iran suspended its nuclear weapons program in 2003, but it continued to enrich uranium.

US President George W. Bush has said there was a "great discovery" as early as August which enabled the US intelligence agencies to form the recent report, however he didn't disclose the details.

The Washington Post has said that the new information included intercepts of conversations between Iranian military commanders.