. 24/7 Space News .
Iran Has Sanitised Suspected Nuclear Site: Opposition Group

AFP aerial file photo of Iran's Parchin nuclear energy plant.

London (AFP) Nov 24, 2004
Iran has moved quickly to "sanitise" a site in northeast Tehran alleged to be at the heart of its feared pursuit of nuclear weapons, an Iranian opposition group claimed Wednesday.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) also released the names of five top Iranian scientists whom it says must be quizzed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to help determine Tehran's real nuclear intentions.

Speaking in London, senior NCRI member Farid Soleimani exposed the existence of the Centre for Development of Advance Defence Technology nine days ago in Vienna but said the top secret site now has been sealed off.

"According to our sources, the Iranian authorities moved almost immediately to sanitise the site" and seal off its three entrances in the Lavizan district of the Iranian capital, he told reporters.

"Interrogators and officers of the ministry of intelligence and security were among the first to come to the site," he said.

"They have barred all from leaving the site, pending an investigation into the source of the leak of sensitive information."

He added that "truck movements in and out of the site have been reported," suggesting that sensitive documents and equipment were being removed in an operation supervised by Defence Minister Ali Shamkahni.

Soleimani also revealed Wednesday the names of five top Iranian nuclear scientists whom he said should be questioned by IAEA experts looking into the extent of Iran's nuclear programme.

He said the five - Mohsen Fakhri-Zadeh, Fereydoon Abbasi, Mansoor Asgari, Mohammad Amin Bassam and Majid Rezazadeh - all had ties to Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards.

"We think interviews with these people are essential to get to the bottom of this thing," he said.

Iran has denied the NCRI's claim that the site in northeast Tehran is being used for uranium enrichment, insisting that it has "no undeclared nuclear activities".

Iran also complained Wednesday that a draft resolution presented by European countries to the Vienna-based board of the UN's nuclear watchdog runs counter to their deal with Tehran on the suspension of uranium enrichment activities.

The IAEA's 35-nation board of governors is to meet Thursday to decide on the next step in the stand-off in the light of Iran's agreement to freeze its activities related to uranium enrichment.

The suspension was part of a deal with Britain, France and Germany, and made after Iran was threatened with being hauled in front of the UN Security Council for possible sanctions - something the United States has been pushing for.

All rights reserved. � 2004 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


A.Q. Khan gave Iran designs for bomb
Washington, (UPI) Nov. 24 , 2004
A CIA report, released this week, blames Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan for supplying nuclear bomb designs to Iran and is bound to increase demands for his interrogation.







  • Space Race 2: Congress Weighs In
  • First Space Council To Set Course Towards A European Space Program
  • NASA Selects Exploration Systems Proposals
  • NASA Gets Back Into The Rocket Science Game

  • Big Planet, Tiny Vehicles
  • Three Hundred Sols And Counting
  • Coprates Catena's 'Collapsed' Structures
  • Living Large In A Martian Lava Tube

  • Brazil, Russia Sign Pact On Space Cooperation
  • Launch Of Ariane Heavy Put Back To January 2005
  • AMC-16 Satellite Good To Go For December 16 Launch
  • New Soyuz Model Successfully Launched

  • Chile's Atacama Desert From Space
  • Scientists Discover Air Is Heavier Than We Thought
  • TerraSAR-X - New Quality Of Earth Observation
  • Space Sentinels Track Desertification On Mediterranean Shores

  • Latest Adaptive Optic Images Of Uranus Surpass Hubble
  • Keck Telescope Images Of Uranus Reveal Ring, Atmospheric Fireworks
  • Pluto-Spitzer Astronomers Say KBO's May Be Smaller Than Thought
  • Keck Zooms In On The Weird Weather Of Uranus

  • In the Stars: Searching For Armageddons
  • First European Moon Mission Captures Stunning Portrait Of Earth And Moon
  • Russia May Have Moon Base By 2025
  • China To Accomplish Lunar Probe Program In 13 Years: Scientist

  • A Decade Of Intense Battle Lies Ahead To Conquer The Moon
  • India To Launch More Lunar Missions Before 2015: Space Agency
  • An "Ocean" Rendezvous On A Bone Dry Moon
  • Europe Reaches The Moon

  • Symmetricom Mark V Granted Security Approval By The NAVSTAR GPS Joint Program Office
  • Raytheon Awarded Phase 1 Of Next-Gen Indian Civil Navigation System
  • GPS Gives Howitzers A New Lease On Life
  • Navicom GPS Offers New Fight Back Anti-Theft Program For Cadillacs

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement