Egypt Thursday dismissed as "erroneous and old" reports that the UN's nuclear watchdog is investigating traces of enriched uranium at an Egyptian nuclear facility.
Reports of an investigation "into the discovery by the International Atomic Energy Agency of traces of enriched uranium in Egypt are erroneous and old," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said in a statement.
"It's surprising that media can get hold of an IAEA report that is to be made public at a meeting in June," he said, apparently referring to the agency's Safeguards Implementation Report.
"This raises several questions on what pushed some people to reveal this information," Zaki said.
"Egypt has in the past already explained to the agency the circumstances of this matter and agency officials agreed with Egyptian explanations," Zaki said, adding that the issue had arisen in 2007.
"The agency always says in its reports that Egyptian nuclear activities are of a peaceful nature," Zaki said.
A diplomat familiar with the IAEA's inspections work said the SIR is a standard report provided to the IAEA board each year describing the status of safeguards verification in all countries.
"As part of the routine application of safeguards in Egypt, IAEA inspectors have taken environmental samples," the diplomat said.
"It is not that unusual for the agency to find traces of nuclear material in environmental samples at nuclear sites in a country. As needed, these are followed up by the Department of Safeguards."
Egypt decided in 2007 to relaunch its nuclear energy program, which started with the Soviet Union in 1961 but was frozen following the 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in Ukraine.