MESOP : Suspected Nuclear Reactor in Iranian Kurdistan

Iranian officials deny the existence of nuclear facilities in Kurdish populated areas of Iran

Basnews  |  Hersh Rahman – TEHRAN – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported that the Iranian government has been building a reactor capable of producing elements that could be used in nuclear weapons, in the Kurdish city of Marivan since 2002.

The report claims that over the last 10 years, the Iranian government has maintained a facility near Mariwan city in Sanandaj Province where explosive tests may have taken place. Iran’s Ambassador to the IAEA, Reza Najafi told Iranian media that the country does not have nuclear bases in Mariwan or the Kurdish part of Iran. Iran has been meeting with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council along with Germany. The countries have requested access to the Marivan site. The IAEA insists investigators must also visit Parchin, southeast of Tehran. An inspection of the facility there has been a long-held priority, but the Iranian government has so far refused access. On Monday is a deadline to reach a comprehensive deal on Iran’s nuclear program appears, however there is unlikely would be an agreement reached by that time with Iranian authorities complaining of not enough time and United States Secretary of State John Kerry saying on Saturday that “serious gaps” remain in the negotiations.