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June 12, 2006
'Iran accused of hiding secret nuclear weapons site'
Although IAEA officials do not know the precise location of Zirzamin 27, they have comprehensive details of its activities ...
Could this be the "smoking gun" the West has been looking for? 
[Image - Do you trust this guy with nukes?]
Back in February of this year, France's Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said in an interview with France 2 television that ""No civilian nuclear program can explain the Iranian nuclear program," .. . "So it is a clandestine military nuclear program."" At the time, it appeared to be little more than a deduction, however, now it appears that he's correct and there's even a name for the program - "Zirzamin 27":
{...} Fresh evidence has emerged that Iran is working on a secret military project to develop nuclear weapons that has not been declared to United Nations inspectors responsible for monitoring Iran's nuclear programme.Ahmadinejad placed the military firmly in control of his nation's nuclear program back in October 2005, undercutting his government's previous claims that the program is intended for civilian use (a claim that continues today). However, if "Zirzamin 27" is as described, there seems to be little doubt that the project is intended to have military applications:Nuclear experts working for the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna are pressing the Iranians to make a full disclosure about a network of research laboratories at a secret military base outside the capital Teheran.
The project is codenamed Zirzamin 27, and its purpose is to enable the Iranians to undertake uranium enrichment to military standard. Zirzamin means "basement" in Farsi, which suggests the laboratories are underground and 27 refers to the 27-year-old Iranian revolution.
Suspicions have been growing that Iran has a secret military nuclear research programme since UN inspectors discovered particles of enriched uranium at a research complex at Lavizan, a military base on the outskirts of Teheran, in 2003.
The Iranians agreed to allow IAEA inspectors to visit the Lavizan complex but then razed it to the ground before the inspectors arrived.
Iranian nuclear officials have ignored repeated requests by IAEA officials for a detailed explanation of the Lavizan project. Now the IAEA officials are studying new intelligence indicating that the Lavizan research project has been moved to a secret military location outside Teheran.
"This is a truly alarming development," said a senior western diplomat working with the IAEA. "This evidence indicates that the Iranians remain committed to developing nuclear weapons, despite their claims to the contrary that their nuclear ambitions are entirely peaceful."
Teheran has consistently argued that its nuclear programme is aimed at developing an indigenous nuclear power industry. But Iran's insistence on developing its own uranium enrichment facilities has raised concerns that it has a well-advanced programme to develop nuclear weapons.
The Zirzamin 27 operation is thought to be being supervised by Iran's Revolutionary Guards under the direction of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the head of Iran's Modern Defensive Readiness and Technology Centre, a top-secret military research site.Earlier evidence came from independent analysts who reported in late 2005 that a wave of senior appointments for Iran's military personnel from within the more ideological forces under the direct control of the ruling Islamic clerics, one of whom was Houchang Hassan-Yan, a political scientist at the Royal Military College of Canada:According to reports being studied by IAEA officials, scientists working at Zirzamin are required to wear standard military uniforms when entering and leaving the complex to give the impression they are involved in normal military activity. They are only allowed to change into protective clothing once inside the site.
Special attention has also been given to developing specialised ventilation systems to make sure no incriminating particles of radioactive material are allowed to escape.
Houchang Hassan-Yari ... noted in a recent analysis that current and former members of the IRGC now can be found throughout Iran's political and administrative bureaucracy, from lawmakers in parliament to mayors, university officials and even managers of some of Iran's biggest business concerns.According to The Telegraph.UK, concerns over activity at Zirzamin 27 will be raised at this week's meeting of the IAEA's Board of Governors in Vienna, which starts today.The corps is "on the verge of being transformed from a junior player in the country's military defense to a key factor in the country's military and security doctrine -- a rise that could come at the [traditional] army's expense," he noted.
Bill Samii, an Iranian analyst for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, said a key factor in Mr. Ahmadinejad's surprise presidential election was the support of the Basij Resistance Force, a paramilitary force with extensive links to the Revolutionary Guards Corps.
The new president, with virtually no experience in foreign affairs when he was elected, named a senior Basij leader as a top adviser just after assuming office in August.
Other coverage: Riehl World View
Cross posted from Hyscience
Posted by Richard at June 12, 2006 8:36 PM
