Iran on Friday summoned Austria’s charge d’affaires after it branded as “fake” an Austrian intelligence report that said Tehran is seeking to acquire atomic weapons.

The spat comes even as Tehran pursues delicate negotiations with the United States on its nuclear program.

In its annual report on global threats, Austria’s domestic intelligence service (DSN) said Monday that Iran’s “nuclear weapons development program is well advanced.”

The United States, Israel and other Western countries have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking to acquire a nuclear weapon. Tehran has repeatedly threatened to destroy Israel.

Iran has categorically denied the claims, instead arguing that it is pursuing a nuclear program for civilian purposes alone.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), however, Iran is the only country in the world that enriches uranium up to 60 percent, a number that has no civilian uses.

That rate is still just below the 90% threshold required for a nuclear weapon, but far above the 3.67% limit set under a 2015 agreement with world powers.

“All efforts to prevent Iran’s armament through sanctions and agreements have so far proved ineffective,” the Austrian report said.

On Friday, Iran’s foreign ministry condemned “the fake information” disseminated in the report and demanded an explanation from Austria’s government.

It later summoned Austria’s charge d’affaires in Tehran Michaela Pacher to “convey Iran’s strong protest,” the official IRNA news agency reported.

It said that during the meeting, the ministry “emphasized the complete contradiction of the Austrian report with numerous IAEA reports.”

The IAEA, whose headquarters are in the Austrian capital, will in the coming days publish its own review of Iran’s nuclear activities.

Iran and the United States are engaged in an Omani-mediated effort to reach a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program, after Donald Trump during his first presidency pulled out of the 2015 agreement.

No date has yet been set for the next Iran-US meeting since last week’s discussions in Rome.

On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he was “not sure” that a deal with the United States was imminent.

His statement came after Trump said on Wednesday that the two sides were “very close to a solution.”

Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report