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Vahid Salemi/AP
Bushehr nuclear power plant in Bushehr, Iran, 750 miles southwest of Tehran (AP)
Bushehr nuclear power plant in Bushehr, Iran, 750 miles southwest of Tehran (AP)
Kuwaiti Paper Says Iran Establishing Secret Nuclear Reactor
by
Josh Katz
A Kuwaiti daily newspaper reports that Iran has been developing a secret nuclear reactor in the southwest since last year, for the production of nuclear bombs.
30-Second Summary
On July 29, 2008, the Kuwaiti publication Al-Siyassa cited reports from allegedly “highly reliable sources,” claiming that Iran was building a nuclear reactor in the Al-Zarqan Area in the southwest of the country near its border with Iraq. The Kuwait Arab Times reprinted the story in English.
Sources told the paper that the formation of the “secret nuclear bomb manufacturing center” began between 2000 and 2003. Iran allegedly “vacated the location, destroyed all the houses, wells and farms, and started full implementation of the project in 2007.” A wall about 10 feet high reputedly surrounds the site.
Iran did not inform the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about the plant at Geneva negotiations earlier in July, diverting attention to other nuclear power plants, the report claims.
Sources said the Iranian government pointed international nuclear inspectors to the Darkhovin (spelled “Dour Khawain” by Al-Siyassa) and Bu Shahri reactors instead, for example, but “the Iranian government is currently working on another nuclear program touted to be more dangerous than Bu Shahri,” according to Al-Siyassa. The secret site is in a more densely populated location than the Dour Khawain plant, “making it a very difficult target due to a possibility that the Iranian authorities will use civilians as human shields,” the newspaper reports.
Tensions in the area have been escalating with the rumors that Israel might launch an attack on Iran to stymie Iran’s nuclear enrichment activities. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak recently met with officials in the United States to gauge America’s feelings on a strike, with the officials not ruling out the military option.
Sources told the paper that the formation of the “secret nuclear bomb manufacturing center” began between 2000 and 2003. Iran allegedly “vacated the location, destroyed all the houses, wells and farms, and started full implementation of the project in 2007.” A wall about 10 feet high reputedly surrounds the site.
Iran did not inform the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about the plant at Geneva negotiations earlier in July, diverting attention to other nuclear power plants, the report claims.
Sources said the Iranian government pointed international nuclear inspectors to the Darkhovin (spelled “Dour Khawain” by Al-Siyassa) and Bu Shahri reactors instead, for example, but “the Iranian government is currently working on another nuclear program touted to be more dangerous than Bu Shahri,” according to Al-Siyassa. The secret site is in a more densely populated location than the Dour Khawain plant, “making it a very difficult target due to a possibility that the Iranian authorities will use civilians as human shields,” the newspaper reports.
Tensions in the area have been escalating with the rumors that Israel might launch an attack on Iran to stymie Iran’s nuclear enrichment activities. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak recently met with officials in the United States to gauge America’s feelings on a strike, with the officials not ruling out the military option.
Headline Links: Al-Siyassa mentions secret Iranian nuclear facility
“On July 29, 2008, the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa reported that, according to ‘highly reliable sources,’ Iranian authorities had begun construction of a secret nuclear reactor in the Al-Zarqan region close to the city of Ahwaz in southwest Iran, on the Iran–Iraq border,” according to MEMRI, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that covers news in the Middle East. MEMRI also provides photographs from the Al-Siyassa article.
Source: The Middle East Media Research Institute
Kuwait’s Arab Times provides the English version of the Al-Siyassa report, which cites sources from the Al-Ahwaziya Region stating that “Tehran has started building a secret nuclear plant for manufacturing atomic bombs” in the Al-Zarqan Area. The project began between 2000 and 2003, “which led to the evacuation of a large number of Arab tribes from the area to Al-Zarqan,” according to the report. The project allegedly began in earnest in 2007.
Source: Arab Times, Kuwait
Background: Iran’s nuclear enrichment; the possibility of Israeli retaliation
A Jan. 31, 2008, article from Iran Daily reported that Iranian Atomic Energy Organization deputy head Ahmad Fayyazbakhsh said the nuclear power plant in Darkhovin, the first indigenous nuclear power plant in Iran, would become operational in 2016. The International Atomic Agency monitored the construction, said Fayyazbakhsh. According to the Al-Siyassa article, sources said the government chose the Al-Zarqan region because it is more densely populated than the “Darkhovin” region (spelled “Dour Khuwain” in the Al-Siyassa article).
Source: Iran Daily (PDF)
“After nearly four years of snail-like movement on Iran’s controversial nuclear dossier, there has been a recent flurry of important developments, all within a few days and weeks of each other,” ISN Security Watch writes. Developments include an agreement for Iran to temporarily halt nuclear enrichment, and the United States opening up diplomatic relations with the country. However, ISN indicates that Iran may be waiting for the next presidential administration to obtain more concessions.
Source: ISN Security Watch
In talks with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday and Tuesday in the United States, Bush administration officials said they had not ruled out military action against Iran, while reasserting that a diplomatic solution was ideal. “U.S. and Israeli officials believe Iran is enriching uranium with the aim of building nuclear weapons,” the Los Angeles Times writes.
Source: Los Angeles Times (free registration may be required)
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