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Weapons-Grade Uranium Reported at Iran Plant
U.N. inspectors have found traces of highly enriched, weapons-grade uranium at an Iranian nuclear facility, a senior diplomat said Tuesday, citing a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The find heightened concerns that Tehran may be running a secret nuclear weapons program. Agency inspectors found ``particlesââ of highly enriched uranium that could be used in a weapons program at the facility at Natanz, said the diplomat, who covers the activities of the U.N. nuclear watchdog and spoke on condition of anonymity. Iranian officials did not contest the finding by the IAEA inspectors but said the equipment was already contaminated by traces of enriched uranium when purchased by Tehran. Thatâs the risk you take when you purchase used nuclear centrifuges and reprocessing equipment on E-Bay. The diplomat said the report, prepared for a meeting of the U.N. agencyâs board, underlined the need for further inspections of the Natanz facility and Iranâs nuclear programs in general to abolish concerns about the nature of its activities. ``It says that contamination is a possibility,ââ as Iran claims, he said. ``But there is work to be done to determine the plausibility of this.ââ Or to twist the facts to make it plausible. Suspicion about Iranâs nuclear program prompted Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the Vienna-based IAEA, to tour Iranâs nuclear facilities in February. The visit was intended to ensure that Iranâs nuclear program was limited to peaceful, civilian purposes and that the facilities were safe. lBaradeiâs tour included a visit to the incomplete nuclear plant in Natanz, about 320 miles south of Tehran. At the time, diplomats said he was taken aback by the advanced stage of a project using hundreds of centrifuges to enrich uranium. "How am I going to give you a clean bill of health if you show me shit like this? Didnât you get my memo?" Agency officials declined to comment on the report and what it contained. But IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky said there were ``a number of outstanding issues, particularly with regard to Iranâs enrichment program, which requite urgent resolution.ââ Gwozdecky said the agencyâs inspectors had visited Iran five times since June. ``In particular, we have visited a number of new sites, have the results of previously taken environmental samples and taken many more new samples, and are in receipt of much new information from the Iranian authorities,ââ he said. Analyzing the new material would take ``weeks or months,ââ he added. "Or years, itâs hard to say." Posted by: Steve 2003-08-26 |
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