UN Nuclear Reports Confirm Secret Enrichment Site but Raise More Questions
UN nuclear inspectors confirmed that Iran is building a new, relatively small, secret enrichment site near the holy city of Qom, according to reports on Iran and Syria released today by the International Atomic Energy Agency. But questions remain about what Iran was doing and whether this was the only secret site, said Michael Adler, Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center.
UN nuclear inspectors confirmed that Iran is building a new, relatively small enrichment site near the holy city of Qom, according to a report released today by the International Atomic Energy Agency. But questions remain about what Iran is doing and whether this site, under construction for years and secret until last September, was the only hidden site, said Michael Adler, Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center.
"The small plant was designed to house some 3,000 centrifuges, and was being built as a reserve in case the larger Natanz plant was attacked," Adler said. "But we still don't know if Iran is working on any other secret facilities."
On Syria, the IAEA reported no progress in investigating a site that was bombed by Israeli planes in order to stop construction of a nuclear reactor. Syria claims the facility was not a reactor.
"Each IAEA report seems to raise new questions, even as others are answered," Adler said. "And this continued uncertainty about Iran's nuclear work comes as talks designed to build confidence that Iran does not seek nuclear weapons are stalled."
