IAEA confirms Iran worked on building nuclear bomb
08/11/2011 20:13
By REUTERS AND YAAKOV KATZ
11/08/2011 19:59
Talkbacks (15)
Iran has worked on developing a nuclear-weapon design and other research, and carried out testing relevant for such arms, the United Nations atomic agency said in its most detailed report to date on Tehran's nuclear program.
"The agency has serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program," the IAEA said in the report, which was released on Tuesday, included a 13-page annex with key technical descriptions of research.
The International Atomic Energy Agency document detailed new evidence suggesting efforts to develop a nuclear arms capability.
Citing "credible" information, the Vienna-based agency said the data "indicates that Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device."
It added: "The information also indicates that prior to the end of 2003, these activities took place under a structured program, and that some activities may still be ongoing."
Additional intelligence provided to the IAEA from a member state also indicates that Iran was planning to carry out "experimentation which would be useful were Iran to carry out a test of a nuclear explosive device."
That member state passed on a document, in Farsi, that explains logistics and safety measures for carrying out such tests.
According to a separate member state, these measures are similar to those used by other by other nations possessing nuclear weapons.
The full report can be viewed here.
Tehran has dismissed the allegations as fabricated and baseless.
The US State Department on Tuesday said it needed time to study a new report by the UN nuclear watchdog agency on Iran's nuclear activities and declined to make any immediate comment on its contents.
"This was released to member states about an hour ago so we're going to take some time to look at it before commenting," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told a news briefing, referring to the IAEA report.
"We are not prepared to talk about any next steps at this point."
The United States and its allies are expected to seize on the report to press for more punitive sanctions on the major oil producer over its record of hiding sensitive nuclear activity and lack of full cooperation with UN inspectors.
Israeli intelligence agencies played a role in helping the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gather information for the report.
In addition to Israel, intelligence agencies from the United States and Europe were also instrumental in helping the IAEA compile the report.
Jpost.com staff contributed to this report.
"The agency has serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program," the IAEA said in the report, which was released on Tuesday, included a 13-page annex with key technical descriptions of research.
The International Atomic Energy Agency document detailed new evidence suggesting efforts to develop a nuclear arms capability.
Citing "credible" information, the Vienna-based agency said the data "indicates that Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device."
It added: "The information also indicates that prior to the end of 2003, these activities took place under a structured program, and that some activities may still be ongoing."
Additional intelligence provided to the IAEA from a member state also indicates that Iran was planning to carry out "experimentation which would be useful were Iran to carry out a test of a nuclear explosive device."
That member state passed on a document, in Farsi, that explains logistics and safety measures for carrying out such tests.
According to a separate member state, these measures are similar to those used by other by other nations possessing nuclear weapons.
The full report can be viewed here.
Tehran has dismissed the allegations as fabricated and baseless.
The US State Department on Tuesday said it needed time to study a new report by the UN nuclear watchdog agency on Iran's nuclear activities and declined to make any immediate comment on its contents.
"This was released to member states about an hour ago so we're going to take some time to look at it before commenting," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told a news briefing, referring to the IAEA report.
"We are not prepared to talk about any next steps at this point."
The United States and its allies are expected to seize on the report to press for more punitive sanctions on the major oil producer over its record of hiding sensitive nuclear activity and lack of full cooperation with UN inspectors.
Israeli intelligence agencies played a role in helping the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gather information for the report.
In addition to Israel, intelligence agencies from the United States and Europe were also instrumental in helping the IAEA compile the report.
Jpost.com staff contributed to this report.
