Ex-UN inspector: Iran truth overcomes US mendacity

The former UN official took aim at the existing western media hype against the Iranian nuclear program and some personalities who are very good at marring the image of Iran, including David Albright, whose “commentary and analysis is more colored by the opinions of his US and Israeli contacts and connections than it is by his first hand experience.”

“I see the truth about Iran's nuclear program prevailing over the fictions David Albright and others are putting out there,” Ritter said.

Ritter made the remarks after Albright, who is the head of a nuclear think-tank close to the White House, claimed that Iran is on course to produce enough highly-enriched uranium to make nuclear weapons.

Ritter ruled out any likely military offensive against Iran, as he said Iran had law and facts on his side.

Albright was described by Ritter as a person who "can not be seen as an unbiased personality” regarding Iran's nuclear program and a person who relies on other people's information.

“He is specialized in exploiting the preconceived notions that exist in the West, in the United States and elsewhere about the evil intent of Iran. It is not a fact based analysis. This is faith-based analysis,” the ex-UN official added.

“When it comes to Iran, the truth does not matter. What matters is that the public has been conditioned by the media and the media uses personalities like David Albright to create hype, to create a mythology of wrong-doing that does not focus on the facts of the situation,” he maintained.

“Albright, definitely has an agenda and he is somebody who is not willing to put the facts on the table and let the facts drive you towards conclusion. He is obviously a person who has a bias against Iran. It's a built-in bias that presumes guilt on the part of Iran; therefore he interprets every piece of data that is coming out of Iran as being evidence of wrong doing on the part of Iran."

He accused Albright of taking advantage of Iran's nuclear dispute to get his name and his organization's name in the spot light on a frequent basis through the “fantastic quotes” he provides for reporters to use in their articles.

“It's all about image as opposed to substance. That's unfortunately where we are today when it comes to mainstream western media analysis of Iran and Iran's nuclear program. It's not about the substance. It's not about the reality, it's about the image,” he opined.

Prior to the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Ritter publicly argued that Iraq possessed no significant weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). He became a popular anti-war figure and talk show commentator as a result of his stance.

/Press TV/