Iran's Civilian Nuclear Program May Link to Military, U.N. Says
Iran's Civilian Nuclear Program May Link to Military, U.N. Says - New York Times: "VIENNA, Jan. 31 — The International Atomic Energy Agency says it has evidence that suggests links between Iran's ostensibly peaceful nuclear program and its military work on high explosives and missiles, according to a confidential agency report provided to member countries today.
The four-page report, which officials say was based at least in part on intelligence provided by the United States, refers to a secretive Iranian entity called the 'Green Salt Project,' which worked on uranium processing, high explosives and a missile warhead design. The combination suggests a 'military-nuclear dimension,' the report said, that if true would undercut Iran's claims that its nuclear program was solely aimed at producing electrical power.
The report will be debated by the 35 countries that make up the international agency's board when they meet in emergency session on Thursday to decide whether Iran should be reported to the United Nations Security Council for its nuclear activities.
The agency says it has repeatedly confronted Iran with the accusations, which Tehran dismissed as 'baseless,' adding that 'it would provide further clarifications later,' the report said. Iran also reiterated that all its nuclear projects were conducted under the authority of its national atomic energy agency and not the military.
The four-page report, which officials say was based at least in part on intelligence provided by the United States, refers to a secretive Iranian entity called the 'Green Salt Project,' which worked on uranium processing, high explosives and a missile warhead design. The combination suggests a 'military-nuclear dimension,' the report said, that if true would undercut Iran's claims that its nuclear program was solely aimed at producing electrical power.
The report will be debated by the 35 countries that make up the international agency's board when they meet in emergency session on Thursday to decide whether Iran should be reported to the United Nations Security Council for its nuclear activities.
The agency says it has repeatedly confronted Iran with the accusations, which Tehran dismissed as 'baseless,' adding that 'it would provide further clarifications later,' the report said. Iran also reiterated that all its nuclear projects were conducted under the authority of its national atomic energy agency and not the military.
More broadly, the report states that the country has not been fully cooperative on all of the outstanding nuclear issues that the agency has been raising questions for years and that formed the basis of a board resolution last fall, asserting that Iran was not complying with its international obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty."
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