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Iran Renews Nuclear Weapons Development: IAEA Says Uranium for Six Bombs Is Missing

[Telegraph-UK] Con Coughlin and Tim Butcher - Nuclear experts responsible for monitoring Iran's nuclear program have discovered that enough enriched uranium, which if processed to weapons grade level could be used to make up to six atom bombs, has disappeared from the main production facility at Isfahan. American spy satellites have identified a number of suspicious sites, which the Iranians have not declared to nuclear inspectors, that intelligence officials believe are being used for covert research. The Isfahan complex, which enriches raw uranium "yellow cake" into material that can be used for either nuclear power or atomic weapons, is supposed to be subject to close supervision by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). But the Iranians only allow IAEA inspectors access to the final stage of the production process, where the uranium in gas form - UF6 - is stored. By conducting a careful study of the amount of material stored at Isfahan, and the amount of "yellow cake" known to have been processed at the plant, nuclear experts believe between 50-60 tons of uranium - sufficient to produce five or six atom bombs - has gone missing from the plant. "If Iran's nuclear intentions are peaceful, then why are they doing this?" said a nuclear official. Nuclear inspectors have also discovered that Gholamreza Aghazadeh, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, recently ordered scientists to increase the amount of UF6 being diverted from Isfahan to another storage facility. The Iranians will be asked to give a full account of the missing enriched uranium when the IAEA's board of governors meets in Vienna later this month.
2008-09-12 01:00:00
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