Iran Busted for Covering Up Activity at Key Nuclear Site

Ahead of upcoming nuclear talks, satellite images suggest more Iranian efforts to cover up atomic weaponization activities.

By United With Israel Staff

Newly revealed satellite images show a whirlwind of concealment activity at Sanjarian, an Iranian nuclear facility located near Tehran.

Sanjarian first drew international scrutiny in 2018, when Iranian nuclear files stolen by the Mossad revealed that the facility was producing “shock wave generators,” components necessary to miniaturize a nuclear weapon. The files indicated that Sanjarian was part of Iran’s “Amad plan” to develop nuclear weapons.

While Iran claims the weapons plan was ended in 2003, Israel insists the weapons plan is continuing in secret.

The satellite images, taken last year by Maxar Technologies, were obtained by Fox News and analyzed by the U.S.-based Institute for Science and International Security in conjunction with The Intel Lab, a private Israel-based intelligence analysis service.

The first photos, taken in October, 2020, show 18 vehicles and excavation work. Subsequent photos taken in January 2021 showed additional vehicles as well as a new access road.

The most recent photos available of Sanjarian taken in March showed the access road completely covered up. Itay Bar Lev of The Intel Lab told Fox News that the only visible features are “excavation swirls and new trenches.”

The revelations came as the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of directors met in Vienna to discuss Iran’s nuclear program. President Joe Biden wants to return the U.S. to the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, after president Donald Trump withdrew from the controversial agreement in 2018. American and Iranian negotiators are due to hold their sixth round of indirect talks in Vienna on Thursday.

At the board meeting, the U.S. delegation took the unusual step of releasing a statement accusing Iran of breaching the JCPOA by “enriching uranium to 60 percent U-235.”