A Soviet scientist has denied being the brains behind Iran’s nuclear programme, despite US media reports that he helped put Tehran on the threshold of making an atomic bomb, a Russian newspaper said on Thursday. The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said in a report issued this week that it had strong indications that a foreign expert had helped Iran develop a “high explosives detonation system” but did not identify this person. The Washington Post cited intelligence reports that named the foreign expert as Vyacheslav Danilenko and said he had assisted the Iranians for at least five years. Kommersant, one of Russia’s leading newspapers, said it had tracked down Danilenko, now 76. “I am not a nuclear physicist and am not the founder of the Iranian nuclear programme,” Danilenko was quoted as telling the newspaper. He declined any further comment, Kommersant said. Russia criticised the UN nuclear watchdog report, saying it contained no new evidence and was being used to undercut efforts to reach a diplomatic solution. Iran denies it is seeking to build a nuclear weapon.