Radioactive material found in Iran. Is he working on a nuclear weapon?

Evidence of Iran’s relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons appears to be in the hands of United Nations inspectors. Three diplomats confirmed that UN inspectors found traces of radioactive material at two sites in Iran, indicating that Tehran has started work on a nuclear weapon.

In details, diplomats revealed that the inspectors’ report said new evidence had been found on the existence of undeclared nuclear activity in Iran, which raised questions about the country’s nuclear ambitions.

And they said, according to the “Wall Street Journal” today, Saturday, that samples taken from two suspicious sites during inspections carried out by the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency last fall contained traces of radioactive material that could indicate Iran’s attempt. to reach nuclear weapons, depending on where you found them.

However, diplomats made it clear that they did not know exactly what had been found.

They also indicated that the IAEA has not yet informed member states of the latest findings of its investigations and is currently asking the Iranian authorities to provide their explanations.

Violation of nuclear restrictions

In recent months, Iran has stepped up its nuclear activities, violating many restrictions of the 2015 nuclear deal it struck with the United States, European powers, Russia and China.

These measures began more than a year after the administration of former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and then imposed broad sanctions on Iran.

He also threatened to restrict access for IAEA inspectors to a number of sites, starting this month.

These steps have raised growing concern in Washington about Iran’s nuclear intentions.

An Iranian nuclear reactor (Archives – France Press)

Suspicious company

In addition, it should be remembered that the IAEA, in a report last June, asked Iran to clarify questions about a group of actions that took place at a site inside the country, which could imply the manufacture of nuclear weapons.

Perhaps what has raised these doubts is Iran’s exploration of a metallic uranium disk that can be used to produce material for the neutron initiator, which experts and scholars say is a key component in making a nuclear weapon.

The second reason is the IAEA’s discovery that Iran had brought nuclear material to a site where high explosives had been tested that could be used to detonate a nuclear weapon.

An Iranian nuclear reactor (Archives – France Press)

The agency also asked Iran to provide clarification on the nature of the work that took place at another undisclosed location, in which an illicit conversion and processing of uranium may have taken place.

Further, she explained that all of the suspected activity occurred in the early 2000s or before, adding that two sites were destroyed years ago. He also mentioned that Iran had sterilized another site in 2019, but he did not rule out the use of materials from this nuclear work recently!

Commenting on these questions or doubts, David Albright, former weapons inspector and president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, said: “The discovery of radioactive material at these two sites indicates that Iran does indeed have undeclared nuclear material, despite its denial. “

The IAEA announced in 2015 that it believed Tehran, which maintained an organized nuclear weapons program until 2003, had continued certain activities afterwards.