[Mb-civic] FW: 'Der Spiegel' Reports: Iran dug tunnel for military nuclear work

[Golsorkhi]

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From: Shahla Samii <shahla at thesamiis.com>
Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2004 15:59:24 -0500
Subject: 'Der Spiegel' Reports: Iran dug tunnel for military nuclear work


 
 
Iran dug tunnel for military nuclear work-magazine

REUTERS

7:11 a.m. November 27, 2004

BERLIN ­ Iran is working on a secret nuclear programme for military
purposes despite promising the European Union it would halt all
activities related to uranium enrichment, the news magazine Der Spiegel
said on Saturday.

The magazine said it had obtained documents from an unnamed
intelligence agency showing that Iran had dug a secret tunnel near an
Isfahan facility preparing raw uranium for enrichment, even though
operations there had been stopped.

Iran, which has repeatedly denied trying to develop nuclear weapons,
promised the European Union on Nov. 14 it would halt all activities
related to uranium enrichment, a process that creates atomic fuel for
power plants or weapons.

It then demanded an exemption for some 20 enrichment centrifuges for
research purposes, a move Western diplomats argued could torpedo the
whole deal. They said Iranian officials in Vienna dropped the demand on
Friday, but were waiting for a final decision from Tehran.

Der Spiegel, in an advance release of a report due to appear on Monday,
said the secret underground facility near Isfahan could soon be ready
to produce large amounts of uranium hexafluoride gas (UF6). Centrifuges
that spin at supersonic speed can produce enriched uranium from UF6.

The magazine said that according to the intelligence documents, Iran's
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei personally issued a directive at
the start of October to build the secret tunnel.

Diplomats say the Iranian attempt to exempt some centrifuges from the
deal struck with the European Union was infuriating both the EU, which
is offering Tehran a package of economic incentives in exchange for
freezing enrichment activities, and Washington which is adamant Iran is
trying to produce nuclear arms.

Oil-rich Iran says it wants nuclear power only to meet booming domestic
demand for electricity.
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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20041127-0711-nuclear-iran-
germany.html

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