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Iran Admits Receiving Nuclear Weapon Information By Marina Malenic WASHINGTON — For the first time, Iran has conceded receiving documents on nuclear weapon production from the black-market nuclear network operated by former top Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report issued today (see GSN, Nov. 17). Papers obtained by Iran from the Khan network beginning in the late 1980s provided detailed instructions on shaping “enriched, natural and depleted uranium metal into hemispherical forms,” according to the agency report. The documents are a “cookbook” for producing a nuclear weapon’s uranium core, one European diplomat told Reuters. One nonproliferation expert disagreed with that assessment, however. “It’s not a cookbook, it’s not specific instructions” to make a nuclear weapon, said Corey Hinderstein, deputy director of the Institute of Science and International Security. “The information is general, it explains the process, but it does not give instructions on the process.” Iranian officials have denied seeking the uranium sphere designs, which they said were provided unilaterally by members of the nuclear network. Drawings provided to Iran by the Khan network also included instructions on how to connect uranium enrichment centrifuges in cascades and how to arrange 2,000 centrifuges in a small enrichment plant. The agency report praises Iran for providing more cooperation in recent weeks, but says, “Iran’s full transparency is indispensable and overdue.” The agency’s Board of Governors begins its next meeting Thursday, and is expected to discuss the next steps toward resolving the Iranian nuclear crisis, including the possibility of referring Iran to the U.N. Security Council. Some diplomats have said that threat is needed to pressure Iran to allow more access to the agency. The agency said in the report that it is “still awaiting additional visits,” both to the Lavizan site, where former nuclear facilities have been razed, and to the military installation at Parchin. Meanwhile, President George W. Bush today expressed support for a Russian proposal that would allow Iran to enrich uranium in Russia as part of a joint venture, national security adviser Stephen Hadley told the Associated Press. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the plan on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in South Korea, according to Hadley. Iran has rejected the proposal, but Hadley said there was still hope for a deal. “We think that doesn’t end it. This will be an issue we will return to,” he said. Gregory Schulte, U.S. representative to the U.N. nuclear watchdog, said yesterday that Russia is now convinced that Iran “is developing a nuclear weapons capability,” AP reported. Moscow’s mounting frustration with Tehran’s refusal to compromise could make Russia more amenable to the U.S. push for Security Council referral, diplomats said. Top Iranian officials had told Russian officials Wednesday that they would not resume uranium conversion for “technical reasons,” the AP reported, but resumed the process several hours later. Russian Security Council head Igor Ivanov had told senior European Union officials of Iran’s willingness to compromise. Tehran’s consequent behavior embarrassed and angered Moscow, said one European official. Elsewhere, France, Germany and the United Kingdom have turned down Moscow’s offer to host a meeting with Iran next week, Agence France-Presse reported. The meeting was seen as a way of easing back into nuclear talks, diplomats said. “Moscow is off, so we go to the board without that kind of prelude,” said one European diplomat.
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