BEFORE (2001)
AFTER (2004)
Posted on 03/10/2005 8:35:57 AM PST by FreedomNeocon
Satellite images confirm completion of heavy water plant
BEFORE (2001)
AFTER (2004)
WASHINGTON — Iran has virtually completed a heavy water plant designed to produce plutonium, a key element in nuclear weapons.
A U.S. institute has released satellite images that point to the near completion of the Iranian heavy water plant at Arak. The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security said the plant would contain a nuclear reactor that could eventually produce plutonium for one atomic bomb per year.
"Adjacent to the reactor construction site [in Arak] is the heavy water production plant, which is almost completed and is anticipated to supply the necessary heavy water for the heavy water reactor," the institute said.
Arak is located 240 kilometers south of Teheran. The institute said DigitalGlobe, a U.S. commercial satellite company, took the satellite images in February 2005.
The images appear to confirm a report released last week by the International Atomic Energy Agency that asserted that Iran was advancing in the 40-megawatt heavy water research reactor project at Arak despite Teheran's stated commitment to end uranium enrichment.
Teheran has acknowledged Arak, but said plutonium production was not meant for nuclear weapons. On Feb. 7, Iranian National Security Adviser Hassan Rowhani said Iran would be capable of producing heavy water within a few weeks.
The institute did not assert that plutonium reprocessing had begun at Arak. Reprocessing involves the extraction of bomb-grade plutonium from a heavy water reactor.
"No evidence of any reprocessing facilities can be seen in the satellite images," the institute said.
But institute President David Albright said he has seen images that indicate that Iran has been testing the Arak plant. He said the images showed steam coming out of the facility.
The Washington institute also released satellite images of the construction of a tunnel north of the Uranium Conversion Facility in Isfahan. The institute said the tunnel has two entrances, separated by less than half a kilometer.
"Construction on the tunnel began in September or October 2004, and Iran is working very hard to finish the project," the institute said. "It appears too big to be only for storage [of nuclear material]. It might be intended to house production facilities for some uranium conversion processes.
LONDON — The International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran continues to deny access to or severely restrict inspections of nuclear facilities.
The agency said Iran has denied or severely restricted access to at least two suspected nuclear facilities. Iran has also been said to have constructed tunnels to conceal nuclear components.
IAEA Deputy Secretary-general Pierre Goldschmidt said Iran has refused to allow agency inspectors to visit the Parchin military facility 30 kilometers southeast of Teheran. Goldschmidt said Teheran relayed its refusal to visit Parchin on Feb. 27.
In a report to the agency's board of governors on Tuesday, Goldschmidt said that in January 2005 Iranian authorities severely limited IAEA access to Parchin, which the United States has asserted contains a testing facility for high-explosive components that could be used for nuclear weapons. In all, he said, inspectors were allowed to enter one site and five buildings in the huge complex.
"Out of the four areas identified by the agency to be of potential interest, the agency was permitted to select one area," the IAEA report said.
"The agency was requested to minimize the number of buildings to be visited in that area and selected five buildings. In the course of that visit, the agency also reiterated its request to visit another area of particular interest on the Parchin site before the end of February.
In a Note Verbale dated Feb. 27, 2005 Iran indicated that 'the expectation of the Safeguards Department in visiting specified zone and points in Parchin Complex are fulfilled and thus there is no justification for any additional visit.'"
Still, the IAEA has not deemed Parchin a nuclear-related site. The agency acknowledged that Iran was not obligated to allow inspectors access to Parchin.
Iran has also refused to provide information on dual-use equipment stationed at the Physics Research Center at Lavizan near Teheran. In October 2004, the agency allegedly received a partial inventory of the equipment at Lavizan-Shian, which the United States said could have been used for uranium enrichment.
Goldschmidt said Iran has also dismissed requests by the IAEA to halt construction of a heavy water reactor in Arak. Goldschmidt said the Arak facility could be used to produce plutonium.
"Iranian officials have indicated that the heavy water research reactor project is progressing," Goldschmidt said in his report.
Goldschmidt said Iran has prevented the IAEA from investigating Teheran's purchase of nuclear equipment that could be used for a weapons program.
He said Iran has failed to respond to requests for information on the equipment or its location.
Teheran also withheld information from the IAEA on Iran's tunnel program. In December 2004, the Iranians said they constructed tunnels in Isfahan for the storage and security of nuclear equipment.
"Through a letter received by the agency on Dec. 13, 2004, Iran submitted an updated Design Information Questionnaire [DIQ] for UCF providing preliminary design information for a tunnel that was being constructed at the UCF [uranium conversion facility] site," the report said.
"In the DIQ entry related to the purpose and nature of the tunnel, Iran indicated that, 'in order to increase capacity, safety and security of nuclear material, a storage is considered and will be constructed.' Iran also indicated that the modifications had been initiated in September 2004."
Goldschmidt told the board of governors that as early as 1987 Iran sought to purchase a sample centrifuge, blueprints for a complete enrichment plant and components for 2,000 centrifuges. He said that on Jan. 12, 2005 Iran showed the agency a handwritten one-page document of the 1987 offer by a "foreign intermediary" that included expertise on uranium enrichment.
"In response to the agency's request for documentation related to Iran's technical discussions with intermediaries concerning centrifuge enrichment in the mid- to late 1990s, during the Jan. 12, 2005 meeting in Teheran, Iran also provided the agency with copies of a number of documents, which are now being assessed," the report said.
Hello, EU, wake up! Does this not prove what the Iranians are doing?
I suspect this will not stand within a year's time.
The EU does and always did know what the Iranians are doing. By CHOOSING to ignore it and stick up for them, they hope that they will not fall under the attack of islam.
Listen....
Do you hear that ?
that humming sound is the
Targeting computers spooling up
They're cowards.
Uh...heavy water is used in nuclear power plants so that uranium enrichment isn't necessary...like, the Canadian design. I thought we already knew the Iranians were building nuclear power plants. What's new?
The clock keeps ticking.
Okay they've spent the time, money, and effort...Let's take it out!
Well we KNOW they are lying about it, but up until this point they have been saying that even the plant built by the Ruskies would use 'soft water' so that weapons grade byproduct would not be an issue. No?
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