Iran has launched a clean-up operation at a nuclear-related site in northern Tehran that was struck by Israeli airstrikes in June, in a move that will likely remove evidence of any past nuclear weapons development work, a research group said on Wednesday.
Satellite images analyzed by the Institute for Science and International Security show damaged buildings being cleared at the Mojdeh site, also known as Lavisan 2, over a period of several weeks this summer.
“The rapid work by Iran to quickly demolish and clear the rubble of these important buildings appears to be an effort to sanitize the site,” the institute said.
The group added that the clean-up “will likely remove evidence of undeclared nuclear and nuclear-weapons related research and development activities.”
Site linked to earlier weapons program
The Mojdeh site has been linked by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to Iran’s Amad Plan, a covert nuclear weapons program that US and IAEA assessments say ended in 2003. The agency has said it found a direct connection between the Mojdeh site and that effort, though it was never allowed to inspect the area or question key personnel.
The institute, a Washington-based research group led by former UN inspector David Albright, cited high-resolution satellite imagery from MAXAR Technologies showing clean-up operations underway between early July and mid-August. By mid-August, buildings at the Mojdeh site associated with the Institute for Applied Physics and the Shahid Karimi Group, both struck in Israeli airstrikes during the June conflict, had been razed and cleared, the report said.
Pattern of site sanitization
Iran has previously conducted clean-up operations at other sites believed to have hosted undeclared nuclear-related activities. “Iran has previously sanitized sites to stonewall IAEA inspectors and hide its past nuclear weapons development work,” the institute said.
The Shahid Karimi Group has been sanctioned by the US Treasury for involvement in explosives and missile work under Iran’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), viewed by Western governments as the successor to the Amad Plan.
Tehran has not commented on the Mojdeh site or the recent imagery. Iranian officials deny seeking nuclear weapons and maintain that the country's nuclear program is peaceful.
