Nuclear Expert Pinpoints Iran's Explosives Test Site

US official confirms Parchin finding
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 14, 2012 7:46 AM CDT
Nuclear Expert Pinpoints Iran's Explosives Test Site
This Aug. 13, 2004 file satellite image shows the military complex at Parchin, Iran, about 19 miles southeast of Tehran.   (AP Photo/DigitalGlobe - Institute for Science and International Security, File)

An American non-proliferation expert says that by using satellite imagery he has identified a building at Iran's Parchin military site that contains, or previously contained, a chamber used to conduct explosives tests, according to Reuters. The building stood out because it had its own perimeter security wall, and a berm between it and an adjacent building, former UN inspector and think-tank founder David Albright said today.

The UN has been trying to inspect Parchin for years, precisely because it suspects such testing is occurring there. "We know explosive compression was done at this chamber," one anonymous US official tells CNN, backing up Albright's findings. "This is where explosives are." Iran last week said it would allow inspectors into Parchin, but the official says satellite images show the country is cleaning up the place ahead of time. "We don't [see] what they are cleaning," he said. But "we know they are up to something." (More nuclear weapons stories.)

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