Diplomats: Iran may be trying to hide evidence of nuclear tests

March 8, 2012 |
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VIENNA, AUSTRIA -- Satellite images of an Iranian military facility show trucks and earth-moving vehicles at the site, indicating that crews were trying to clean it of radioactive traces possibly left by tests of a nuclear-weapon trigger, diplomats said Wednesday.


Two of the diplomats said the crews may be trying to erase evidence of tests of a small neutron device used to set off a nuclear explosion. A third diplomat could not confirm that but said any attempt to trigger a neutron initiator at the Parchin site could only be in the context of trying to develop nuclear arms.


The images, provided to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) -- the United Nations' nuclear watchdog -- by member countries, are recent and constantly updated, one of the diplomats said.


The diplomats are nuclear experts accredited to the IAEA, and all asked for anonymity to discuss sensitive information.


Iran is under growing international pressure over its nuclear program, which it insists is peaceful. Israel has warned that it may resort to a preemptive strike against Iran's nuclear facilities to prevent Iran from obtaining atomic weapons.


The IAEA has already identified the Parchin military site as the location of suspected nuclear weapons-related testing. In a November report, it said it appeared to be the site of experiments with conventional high explosives meant to initiate a nuclear chain reaction.


It did not mention a neutron initiator as part of those tests, but in a separate section, it cited an unnamed member nation as saying Iran may have experimented with a neutron initiator, without going into detail or naming a location for such work.


In contrast, the intelligence information the two diplomats shared linked the high-explosives work directly to setting off a neutron initiator at Parchin.