Satellite imagery taken of Iran is raising concerns inside the United Nations' nuclear watchdog that Tehran has been "cleansing" a military site that the agency believes may have been involved in nuclear-weapons development, according to Western officials briefed on the intelligence.The International Atomic Energy Agency twice tried to visit the site, called Parchin, last month to assess its suspicions that Iran has been conducting explosives tests there with the aim of developing atomic weapons. Tehran twice rejected the IAEA's requests. It denies developing nuclear weapons and says Parchin is purely a conventional military facility.
In recent days, senior Iranian officials have said Tehran is now reassessing the IAEA's request to visit Parchin and is likely to allow a visit in the coming months. But the officials briefed on the satellite imagery said there is growing concern that Iran is attempting to remove any evidence linking Parchin to nuclear-weapons development, believed by some Western officials to be from Tehran's pre-2003 weapons program, by sanitizing the site.
The Obama administration believes that Iran ceased its active development of atomic weapons in 2003, even as it has continued to produce nuclear fuel. But the IAEA reported in November that it had amassed information suggesting some Iranian efforts to develop bombs may have continued beyond that year.
"We better get there sooner rather than later," said a European official briefed on the intelligence concerning Parchin, which is just south of Tehran.
The IAEA's November report specifically cited evidence that Iran had utilized Parchin to experiment in developing a neutron device used to trigger a nuclear explosion. Cleansing the site could remove any radioactive residue from tests, even ones that occurred many years ago, said experts.
The IAEA's director general, Yukiya Amano, hinted at concerns over Parchin earlier this week in Vienna when he told a gathering of the agency's board of governors that there was disturbing "activity" at the site.
Western officials initially thought Mr. Amano was referring to ongoing nuclear weapons work there. But diplomats based in Vienna said he was referring to alleged Iranian attempts to cleanse the site.
On Tuesday, the U.S. and other world powers announced that they were prepared to accept Iran's invitation to restart negotiations on its nuclear program.
U.S. and European officials said a main focus of the new talks will be to secure greater access for the IAEA to facilities, scientists and documents believed to be tied to Iran's nuclear program. Parchin, they said, is emerging as a key litmus test to gauge Iranian cooperationIran has been the target of sanctions from the U.S. and others who allege, to Tehran's denials, that the country is pursuing nuclear weapons.
On Wednesday, Japan's Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said the country is in "final stage" talks with the U.S. on cutting its imports of Iranian crude oil. For months, Japan has sought an exemption from U.S. sanctions on Iran, which it says will damage its own economy. Mr. Gemba declined at a news conference to say when or by how much Japan will reduce its imports of Iranian oil, citing a possible destabilizing impact on commodities markets.
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