Combined Services–Monday’s explosion at a nuclear installation in Parchin where two Iranian facility workers were killed elicited no response from Jerusalem. Speaking last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Israel’s position on Iranian nukes is clear. Two years ago, the UN nuclear watchdog agency requested an inspection of the plant but Iran refused with the excuse that it was not one of the installations open for inspection. It is believed that the plant produces nuclear warheads. No organization took responsibility for the explosion which may have been caused by a technical failure.
Iran’s Parchin military site, which is located some 19 miles southeast of the capital Tehran, but various reports, from the BBC and Times of Israel say the explosion shattered windows nine miles away.
The UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, has long denounced suspect activities at the Parchin military base. The agency, which has failed to enter the complex since 2005 due to Iranian opposition, maintained that the Islamic Republic may have carried out explosives tests that could be useful to develop nuclear weapons.
Iran has denied that it is seeking a nuclear weapons capability and said Parchin is just a conventional military facility. Israel, citing high reliable information, recently said that Iran used Parchin as the site for secret tests of technology relevant to a nuclear weapon.
The Iranian government has made no statement on the matter, and nearly all reports in the incident are based on reports from sites outside of Iran, most of them run by anti-government groups outside the country.
Last month Israel’s Internal Security Minister Yuval Steinitz said he had “reliable information” that Parchin was being used for secret tests of technology that could be used only for detonating a nuclear weapon.
The New York Times reported that the site– partly buried in the Barjamali hills– was “traditionally used as a munitions storage facility but is now also used for the production of missile engines and drones.”
The latest development comes as talks between Iran and world powers remain deadlocked over Iran’s illegal nuclear program, as a November 24 deadline for a permanent deal.
