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Report: Iran working on testing nuke bomb component

British Times reveals documents showing Iran planned to test uranium deuteride, which can be used to trigger an explosion in a nuclear bomb

Iran is working on testing a key component of a nuclear bomb, the Times reported on Monday. According to the report, the confidential intelligence documents obtained by the paper outline a four-year plan to test a neutron initiator, the component of a nuclear bomb the triggers an explosion.

 

The documents have been dated to early 2007, and an Asian intelligence confirmed last week to the Times that his country believed work on a neutron initiator was being carried out in 2007.

 

According to the documents, uranium deuteride, which independent experts confirm has no possible civilian or military purpose other than in a nuclear weapon, was used by Iran. Uranium deuteride is the same material used in Pakistan's bomb, where Iran obtained its blueprints.

 

David Albright, a physicist and president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, said, "Although Iran might claim that this work is for civil purposes, there is no civil application."

 

According to the report, the several Western intelligence agencies have viewed the documents, as well as the IAEA.

 

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said on Sunday: “We do not comment on intelligence, but our concerns about Iran’s nuclear program are clear. Obviously this document, if authentic, raises serious questions about Iran’s intentions.”

 

Meanwhile, an Israeli government spokesperson told the Times: “Israel is increasingly concerned about the state of the Iranian nuclear program and the real intentions that may lie behind it.”

 

The timing of the publication is not coincidence, as the UN is slated to discuss sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program this week.

 

Mark Fitzpatrick, senior fellow for non-proliferation at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, said: “The most shattering conclusion is that, if this was an effort that began in 2007, it could be a casus belli. If Iran is working on weapons, it means there is no diplomatic solution.”

 

Experts say that, if the 2007 date is correct, the documents are the strongest indicator yet of a continuing nuclear weapons program in Iran. Iran has long denied a military dimension to its nuclear program, claiming its nuclear activities are solely focused on the production of energy for civilian use.

 


פרסום ראשון: 12.14.09, 08:46
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