Iran denies running secret nuclear site

Published
0

TEHRAN, Nov 18: Iran angrily denied on Thursday allegations by an exiled group that it was running a secret nuclear bomb facility near Tehran, and indicated that UN inspectors would be allowed to visit the site.

"We totally deny these allegations. This site is not a nuclear site and has nothing to do with our nuclear activities. Iran has no undeclared nuclear activities," top diplomat and nuclear negotiator Hossein Moussavian told AFP.

An Iranian opposition group, the National Council for Resistance in Iran, alleged this week that Iran is hiding a uranium enrichment facility near Tehran and aims to get the atomic bomb next year. But Mr Moussavian said Iran had already "declared all our nuclear sites and all our nuclear activities" to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"We have always responded positively to the agency's inspections requests. We have always cooperated," Mr Moussavian said when asked if IAEA inspectors could visit the alleged secret site. However, he also said that "it is not good for the agency to be played and manipulated by a well-known terrorist group".

The NCRI is the political arm of the Iraq-based People's Mujahideen, which the United States and the European Union consider a terrorist organization.

Iran has also come under fresh fire from the United States, with US Secretary of State Colin Powell saying on Wednesday that Washington had information that Iran is seeking to adapt its missiles to carry nuclear warheads.

"I have seen some information that would suggest that they've been actively working on delivery systems to deliver it," Mr Powell said.

In a related development, an Iranian judiciary official was quoted as saying that four people accused of spying on the country's nuclear programme for foreign governments have gone on trial.

Opinion

Editorial

Restructuring plans
Updated 29 Oct, 2026

Restructuring plans

The primary reason for governance failure in Pakistan is not the geographical size of the existing provinces but the reluctance of provincial capitals to empower local bodies.
Polluted priorities
Updated 29 Oct, 2026

Polluted priorities

Enforcement must continue, but decisions should follow evidence, not the visibility of machinery on city roads.
Continuing genocide
29 Oct, 2026

Continuing genocide

FOR the people of Gaza, despite the ‘ceasefire’ reached last October, the genocide never really ceased. This ...
Regional security
Updated 28 Oct, 2026

Regional security

Iran and the Makkah pact states should pledge not to let external actors use their soil to launch aggression against each other.
Rate hike
28 Oct, 2026

Rate hike

THE SBP’s decision to raise its policy rate by 50 basis points to 12pc was largely expected. It is also justified...
Press solidarity
28 Oct, 2026

Press solidarity

PAKISTAN’S journalists have seldom lacked organisations speaking in defence of press freedom. What has been ...