Iran nuke-site blasts confirmed, sabotage suspected

 

Iran nuke-site blasts confirmed, sabotage suspected

Could Stuxnet-like virus have been snuck into Fordow?

Published: 22 hours ago

Reza Kahlili

http://www.wnd.com/2013/03/iran-nuke-site-blasts-confirmed-sabotage-suspected/#iXMDyVqgrUsgvmIm.99

 

 

The European intelligence community and the U.S. government have received

corroboration that explosions rocked Iran's nuclear facility at Fordow, but

are unclear if they were due to mechanical failure or sabotage, WND has

learned.

 

The Jan. 21 explosions killed at least 76 people and injured scores more,

said one source, who later told WND that many rescue and security personnel

were sickened by radiation poisoning in the aftermath of the disaster.

 

Certain European countries in the 5-plus-1 talks with Iran over its illicit

nuclear program had demanded inspection of Fordow before any agreement might

arise from the negotiations held last month in Kazakhstan, a source within

the European intelligence community said. The 5-plus-1 countries are the

five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany.

 

As part of those talks, Iran was offered the chance to "halt activity" out

of Fordow and take steps to ensure that any restart of activity would take

time, allowing for the eventual easing of sanctions as a face-saving exit

for Iran, the source said. President Obama at a recent White House meeting

with Jewish American leaders quoted a Chinese proverb in his dealings with

Iran about building a "golden bridge" for the opponent to retreat.

 

The European countries in the 5-plus-1 were more aggressive in the talks

than their American counterpart, the source said. Knowing that Fordow had

taken a hit, they told the Iranian delegation that just agreeing to halt

activities at Fordow wasn't good enough, he said. The Europeans demanded an

inspection of the site before finalizing any agreement that would ease some

sanctions. The Iranians, for their part, used the gambit that Fordow was

still operable to get a better response from the West, but they have yet to

allow any inspection after the incident.

 

WND reported exclusively on Jan. 24 that explosions rocked Iran's nuclear

facility at Fordow on Jan. 21, with updates on Jan. 27, 29, 30, 31, and Feb.

3, 6, 13, 23 and 24. The blasts at first trapped 219 workers, including 16

North Koreans. One of the fatalities was a North Korean.

 

Iran denied the incident and within days the White House said it had no

corroborating information and did not find the WND report credible. The

International Atomic Energy Agency backed Iran's denial based on what it

called its "observation," although after the release of its Feb. 21 report,

it was clear its inspectors had not been at the site since December. WND's

source said that the IAEA had requested to see the site but was turned down

by Iran. Then it asked for a written response but none was given, so it

relied on Iran's verbal response that no incident had taken place.

 

Fordow fuel enrichment plant - DigitalGlobe image on day of reported

explosion, Jan. 21, 2013

 

A source with long-standing national security ties reported back to WND

after attending a recent social event in the U.S. with people who are

informed on international security matters. He claimed one of the attendees

said reports from associates in Iran confirm something extraordinary

happened at Fordow.

 

The source further said the denial of a Fordow catastrophe by authorities

here and abroad focuses on saying there was no "explosion," while not ruling

out an industrial breakdown triggered by a Stuxnet-like cyberattack. The

North Korean contingent in Iran may have delivered the trigger in

software/hardware newly linked to Fordow's closed system.

 

WND reported on Jan. 29 that 36 North Korean technicians and military

officers arrived in Tehran Jan. 15 and 17, and 16 of them carried new

equipment to Fordow to start an operation on cascades.

 

The source for that report, a high-ranking member of the security forces at

Fordow who originally reported the explosions, told WND that many Iranian

scientists working for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran know of the

incident but do not dare talk. He said some of the scientists have privately

speculated the new equipment delivered to Fordow was bugged and disrupted

the operation of the centrifuges, ultimately creating an explosive chain

reaction.

 

Gen. Morteza Ghorbani

 

The Islamic regime believes it was sabotage and many Iranians have been

arrested, the source said, adding there has been minimal activity at the

site since late February after the initial rescue mission.

 

The Ministry of Defense, which oversees Iran's nuclear program, has assigned

two top commanders, Gen. Morteza Ghorbani and Gen. Ahmad Vahid Dastjerdi, to

oversee all security for the country's nuclear program. Both are major

figures within the regime on intelligence and counterintelligence.

 

Iran has yet to refute the Feb. 24 WND story that released some of the names

of the dead in the explosion, and its media is in a total news blackout

about any activity at Fordow. The next 5-plus-1 talks will be held on the

expert level in Turkey on March 17-18 before both sides reconvene in

Kazakhstan on April 5-6.

 

Gen. Ahmad Vahid Dastjerdi

 

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, last week criticized the West

for not offering enough concessions in recent talks. This is while, the

source said, the regime is trying to complete its nuclear bomb program at

several secret sites.

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