Farid Soleimani, senior official of the NCRI (National Council of Resistance of Iran) points to a map during a news conference on nuclear plans of Teheran, on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004, in Vienna. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)
Posted on 11/17/2004 11:41:37 AM PST by NormsRevenge
VIENNA, Austria - Iran bought blueprints of a nuclear bomb from the same black-market network that gave Libya such diagrams and continues to enrich uranium despite a commitment to suspend the technology that can be used for atomic weapons, an Iranian opposition group said Wednesday.
Farid Soleimani, a senior official for the National Council for Resistance in Iran, did not offer evidence for the claims. His group has said in the past that it gets information on Iran's nuclear program from opposition sources within Iran, including some moles who have infiltrated the Islamic Republic's military and security organizations.
Mark Gwozdecky, spokesman for the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency said, "we follow up every solid lead," but added the U.N. nuclear watchdog would have no further comment.
Soleimani said the diagram was provided by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani head of the nuclear network linked to clandestine programs in both Iran and Libya.
Between 1994 and 1996, Khan "gave them the same weapons design he gave the Libyans, as well as more in terms of weapons design," Soleimani told reporters in Vienna.
He said that in 2001 Khan also delivered to Iran an amount of highly enriched uranium, the material that can form the core of nuclear warheads. Soleimani said he didn't think the amount was enough to make a weapon.
Soleimani's organization is the political wing of the People's Mujahedeen, or Mujahedeen Khalq, which the United States considers a terrorist organization. While much of its information has not been confirmed, it was instrumental in 2002 in revealing Iran's enrichment program.
A diplomat familiar with the IAEA and its investigations into Libya's and Iran's nuclear programs said the agency has long believed that Iran received from Khan material similar to Libya's. But the IAEA has never confirmed it received blueprints, the diplomat told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Libya bought engineers' drawings of a Chinese-made bomb through the Khan network as part of a covert nuclear program that it renounced last year.
Iran says it does not have such drawings, and no evidence has been found to dispute that claim.
The opposition group made its claim days after Iran announced it would suspend all activities related to nuclear enrichment as part of an agreement with three European nations aimed at heading off a confrontation over its nuclear program.
Soleimani said centrifuges and other equipment needed to produce enriched uranium had been covertly moved from a facility at Lavizan-Shian to a nearby site within Tehran's city limits. "As we speak, the site continues to produce (enriched) uranium," Soleimani said, alleging that it "is not the only one that is being kept secret."
The diplomat said the IAEA was looking into the possibility equipment was moved from Lavizan-Shian to an unknown location.
A report detailing IAEA investigations into Iran's nuclear programs prepared for the agency's Nov. 25 board meeting notes that Iran has failed to produce a trailer that apparently contained nuclear equipment at Lavizan-Shian for IAEA inspection and declined to provide a list of euqipment used there.
Enrichment at low levels generates fuel for nuclear power — and Iran says that is its sole interest. But the United States and other countries suspect Iran wants to produce weapons-grade enriched uranium for nuclear warheads.
The IAEA says it will start monitoring Iran's commitment to halt enrichment activities starting early next week.
The suspension pledge reduced U.S. hopes of having the board refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council for alleged violations of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Under the agreement, Tehran is to suspend all uranium enrichment in return for European guarantees that Iran has the right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program.
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami (news - web sites) called the agreement a "great victory" but said Wednesday that Tehran won't respect its commitment if Europeans fail to support his country at the IAEA board meeting.
"If we see that they don't keep their promise, it's natural that we won't fulfill our promise," he said.
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On the Net:www.iaea.org
Farid Soleimani, senior official of the NCRI (National Council of Resistance of Iran) points to a map during a news conference on nuclear plans of Teheran, on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004, in Vienna. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)
El Baradei and his ilk have give the world Islamic nuclear proliferation.
MOHAMMED El Baradei!
I hope this guy is not the Iranian version of Achmen Chalabi.
I thought they pulled all that stuff off the net.-)
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