TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Libyan officials claimed Wednesday that government forces remained in control of areas around a mountain range southwest of Tripoli that rebel fighters say they are using as a base to advance toward the capital. The rebels based in villages in the western Nafusa mountains have been slowly solidifying their hold, forming a second front against Moammar Gadhafi's troops who are also battling rebels on a few fronts east of the capital. In Paris, a military spokesman said France sent weapons to rebels in the Nafusa mountain region earlier this month. In recent days, rebels in the mountains claimed to have advanced to the town of Bir al-Ghanam, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Tripoli. On Tuesday, they said they took over a large weapons storage site some 20 miles (30 kilometers) south of the mountain town of Zintan. But Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi played down the reports of mountain rebel advances Wednesday. "The situation in the western mountains is good, and it's under control," he said when asked about the fighting after a meeting of Cabinet members and municipal governors in a posh sea-front hotel in Tripoli. The fighting in Libya began in mid-February and has devolved into a civil war, with rebels in control of the eastern third of the country and pockets in the west, including several Nafusa mountain towns. They have been helped by airstrikes conducted by NATO, which launched its campaign under a United Nations mandate to protect civilians. The municipal governor of Gharyan, a city at the eastern gateway to the mountains and on a major road to Tripoli, acknowledged that there were minor skirmishes with rebels around the town. But the official, Abdul-Nabi Mohammed Bakir, said the "situation is much better than the news tries to report" and dismissed suggestions of a major rebel advance as incorrect. He spoke to reporters at the meeting in Tripoli, suggesting he remains allied with Gadhafi's government. "Yes indeed we do have limited numbers of armed individuals who go beyond our lines of defense, just like any thief would do under cover of night. But there are no masses, as you might describe them, of armed rebels," he said. "There are limited numbers of them here or there." Bakir said he goes to work in Gharyan day and night without being worried about his safety. The city, he said, is "really 100 percent safe from the rebels." Gharyan lies about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Tripoli. In Paris, a military spokesman Col. Thierry Burkhard said guns, rocket-propelled grenades and munitions were parachuted in to rebels in the Nafusa mountains following earlier airdrops of humanitarian aid including water, food and medical supplies. Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said he was aware of the French arms aid. He criticized the decision, saying it would only serve "to intensify the fighting on the ground in Libya." However, a member of the rebel military council in the Nafusa mountains denied that any weapons had been sent. The official, Col. Gomaa Ibrahim, said rebels would have expressed gratitude, "but we have not received anything from the French forces. We only have weapons (seized) from the Gadhafi forces. ... We have nothing to hide, and we have always asked for help in terms of weapons." Ibrahim, the rebel official, said the leadership council in the rebels' de facto capital in the east, Benghazi, was seeking to clarify the matter with NATO. In Tripoli, Libya's newly appointed energy minister, Omran Bukra, said the country is now producing just 20,000 barrels of oil per day, a fraction of the approximately 1.7 million barrels it was pumping before the war. He said repeated NATO airstrikes on the eastern oil town of Brega — a frequent flashpoint for clashes between rebel fighters and government troops — were severely damaging civilian infrastructure and have killed civilians. He warned that further strikes risk creating an environmental disaster if they hit large amounts of crude oil and other petroleum products stored in the town. Bukra replaces Shukri Ghanem, who said early this month that he had defected and now supports the rebels. Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it was preparing to transport by sea about 600 people in Tripoli who had been cut off from their families to Benghazi on Thursday. The Red Cross organized a similar ferry journey last week, carrying 294 people to Benghazi. On the return trip, 106 people in the rebel-held city made their way back to Tripoli. Red Cross spokesman Robin Waudo said the relief agency is working with officials on both sides of the conflict to reunite Libyans separated by the fighting. He said passengers must prove they live in the part of Libya where they are headed to, and may only travel after the Red Cross ensures they are returning willingly. ___ Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Paris and Sarah El Deeb in Cairo contributed reporting.

LONDON (AP) — Iran has conducted covert tests of ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads in addition to a 10-day program of public military maneuvers, Britain alleged on Wednesday.

Foreign Secretary William Hague told the House of Commons that there had been secret experiments with nuclear-capable missiles, but did not specify precisely when the tests had taken place.

Iran has "been carrying out covert ballistic missiles tests and rocket launches, including testing missiles capable of delivering a nuclear payload," Hague said.

Britain believes Tehran has conducted at least three secret tests of medium-range ballistic missiles since October, amid an apparent escalation of its nuclear program and increased scrutiny from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

A U.N. Panel of Experts report leaked to the media last month reported that Iran conducted secret ballistic missile tests in October and February.

During the tests, the report said, Iran launched a liquid-fueled Shahab 3 missile, with a range of 560 miles (900 kilometers), and one or two solid-fueled Sejil 2 missiles, with a range of 1,240 miles (2,000 kilometers).

Both missiles are believed to be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, the U.N. experts said. They did not say if the tests were successful, or provide other details.

The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, an arms control group, raised concerns about the secret tests in a posting on its website.

The group pointed out that a 2010 U.N. Security Council resolution prohibits Iran from "any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches..."

Iran is currently displaying its military hardware in a series of war games in an apparent show of openness, and on Tuesday fired 14 missiles in public tests.

However, the U.K. believes that the covert missile tests show Iran's leaders are seeking to avoid scrutiny over the real extent of their weapons programs.

"On the back of the recent IAEA report and the unanswered questions about its nuclear program, they only serve to undermine further Iran's claims that its nuclear program is entirely for civilian use," said a Foreign Office spokesman, on customary condition of anonymity in line with policy.

An IAEA report last month listed "high-voltage firing and instrumentation for explosives testing over long distances and possibly underground" as one of seven "areas of concern" that Iran may be conducting clandestine nuclear weapons work.

Hague also said Britain was concerned over Tehran's decision to increase its capacity to enrich uranium to a higher level at the Fordo site near the holy city of Qom in central Iran.

"It has announced that it intends to triple its capacity to produce 20 percent enriched uranium. These are enrichment levels far greater that is needed for peaceful nuclear energy," Hague said.

Low-enriched uranium — at around 3.5 percent — can be used to fuel a reactor to generate electricity, while uranium enriched to around 90 percent purity can be used to develop a nuclear warhead.

Enriching to 90 percent can be done much more easily from material enriched to 20 percent purity than from low-enriched material.

Some Western officials claim Iran is accelerating its attempts to produce a nuclear weapon, partly because leaders have been shaken by protests against authoritarian regimes across the Middle East.

Iran and the West remain in dispute over its nuclear program. The U.S. and its allies insist it is aimed at developing atomic weapons — a charge Iran rejects.

"We will maintain and continue to increase pressure on Iran to negotiate an agreement on their nuclear program," Hague said.

Hague also condemned Tehran over its support of the violent crackdown on anti-regime demonstrations in Syria.

"Iran continues to connive in the suppression of legitimate protest in Syria and to suppress protests at home," he said.

___

Douglas Birch in Washington contributed to this report.