{"id":236945,"date":"2021-03-28T09:37:21","date_gmt":"2021-03-28T14:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=236945"},"modified":"2023-01-24T08:30:53","modified_gmt":"2023-01-24T07:30:53","slug":"undeclared-nuclear-sites-are-a-sign-of-inadequate-pressure-over-irans-nuclear-activities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/undeclared-nuclear-sites-are-a-sign-of-inadequate-pressure-over-irans-nuclear-activities\/","title":{"rendered":"Undeclared Nuclear Sites Are A Sign Of Inadequate Pressure Over Iran\u2019s Nuclear Activities"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Iran: Fordow enrichment facilities<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, recently stated that Iran<\/a> must come clean about its past nuclear work if there is to be the hope of salvaging the 2016 nuclear deal. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was originally intended to close the file on that issue, but soon after it was implemented, it became clear that the regime was still actively hiding its history of nuclear work at, at least one site, even after the deal was implemented. More recently, the IAEA has identified unexplained uranium particles in soil samples from at least two more locations, thereby broadening the possible military dimensions of the regime\u2019s activities.
\nWeeks before Grossi made his latest statement on the lack of Iranian transparency, the National Council of Resistance of Iran<\/a> held a press conference to share additional details about one of the two newly-identified nuclear sites. The information was collected by the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran<\/a> (PMOI-MEK), which was also the entity responsible for exposing the first key details of the regime\u2019s clandestine nuclear weapons program, including the existence of the Natanz uranium enrichment site and the Arak heavy water plant.<\/p>\n

The NCRI\u2019s press<\/a> conference drew explicit comparisons between the new information about a site at Abadeh and the now-established information about the Parchin military base, which came under suspicion of nuclear activity in 2012 but was not accessed by the IAEA until 2017, well after the nuclear deal went into effect. The NCRI<\/a> found that in each case, the site was subject to similar sanitization methods led by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In the case of Abadeh, all buildings on the site were reportedly destroyed in 2019 after it became clear that their existence and purpose had been exposed. Afterward, IRGC contractors attempted to remove and replace a thick layer of soil in an ultimately unsuccessful effort to eliminate traces of nuclear material.<\/p>\n

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\nThe same process had been observed at Parchin, with satellite images confirming that the entire area had been razed and overhauled. Despite this clear evidence of tampering, Tehran continued obstructing the IAEA\u2019s access to the site for months. Unfortunately, the JCPOA\u2019s weak provisions concerning undisclosed sites and especially military sites made this fairly easy.
\nSince the withdrawal of the US from the deal, the overarching focus of European leaders has been to salvage that agreement by any means necessary. So it goes without saying that the problems of insufficient IAEA access have never been addressed. Quite to the contrary, they have been exacerbated by Iran\u2019s efforts to retaliate against the re-imposition of US sanctions \u2013 efforts that have been aimed at Europe at least as much as at America but have received little to no coordinated response from Western powers.
\nIn February, in accordance with a law that was passed late last year, Iran ceased compliance with the Additional Protocol of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and effectively revoked the IAEA\u2019s already-limited rights of access to the country. Although the regime stopped short of kicking international inspectors out altogether, it has explicitly threatened to do exactly that if its adversaries don\u2019t capitulate to the pressure, remove sanctions, and provide new concessions in order to buy Iran\u2019s continued recognition of the JCPOA.
\nNeither Europe nor the US can allow themselves to be blackmailed in this fashion. The nations of Europe must thoroughly revise their approach to the issue in the wake of the IAEA\u2019s latest findings regarding undeclared nuclear sites. If Tehran is not subjected to additional pressure, the mullahs will no doubt conclude that both their deception and their threats have paid off and will continue to do so.
\nThis is an especially dangerous proposition when those threats have become so blatant, and that deception has become a recognizable source of pride for Iranian officials. On February 9, Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi highlighted one of Tehran\u2019s main defenses of its \u201cpeaceful\u201d nuclear program but did so in a way that plainly discredited it. \u201cThe fatwa forbids the production of nuclear weapons,\u201d he said, referring to a religious edict from the regime\u2019s Supreme Leader Khamenei that says such weapons are contrary to Islam, \u201cbut if they push Iran in those directions, it is not Iran\u2019s fault. Those who pushed Iran in that direction will be to blame.\u201d<\/p>\n

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#Iran<\/a>'s Minister of Intelligence and Security Mahmoud Alavi frankly threatens the international community about the proliferation of #NuclearWeapons<\/a>.
"We do not pursue nuclear weapons, but if foreigners pushed us, this is their fault," he said in an interview with state-run TV. pic.twitter.com\/qFEZgKWKNW<\/a><\/p>\n

— Iran News Update (@IranNewsUpdate1) February 9, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n