MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil denies nuclear-weapons capability.

Brazil's Science & Technology Ministry on Friday criticized a report in the U.S. magazine Science that says the South American nation has the capability of producing up to six nuclear bombs per year.

The fragility of the argument and the inconsistency of the statements can only be the result of great disinformation or a potential link to suspicious interests, neither of which has any place in a scientific magazine with the prestige and tradition of Science," said a ministry communique.

The ministry expressed "surprise and confusion" about the report, which said Brazil's alleged capabilities were the reason Brasilia refused to allow complete inspections of the country's nuclear facilities.

Science magazine published a commentary by researchers from the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, who said Brazil's new uranium-enrichment plant at Resende could turn out enough material for five to six nuclear warheads per year.

Brazil has not allowed experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect their uranium enrichment process, which was developed with expensive proprietary technology that Brazil is determined to protect from industrial espionage, according to the official report.

On Tuesday, representatives from the IAEA went to the Resende plant to conduct an inspection but were not permitted to see the centrifuges that Brazil developed for the enrichment process.

Although Brazil said it remains firm in its commitment to the United Nations not to use its nuclear capabilities for anything other than energy, Tuesday's incident has generated speculation and suspicion.

In April, The Washington Post published an editorial expressing concern over Brazil's stance, a piece which the Science & Technology Ministry also blasted