UN: Iran worked on developing nuclear weapons

World Today

Mideast-Iran-NuclearIran’s heavy water nuclear facilities near the central city of Arak, 150 miles (240 kilometers) southwest of Tehran (Photo: AP/ISNA/Hamid Foroutan)

A U.N. atomic agency says it believes that Iran worked in the past on nuclear weapons but its activities didn’t go past planning and basic component experiments.

The assessment was contained in an International Atomic Energy Agency report, ending nearly a decade of attempts to investigate the allegations.

The evaluation says the most “coordinated” work on developing such arms was done before 2003, with some activities continuing up to 2009.

The agency’s probe was based launched on intelligence provided by the United States, Israel, and other Iranian adversaries and on the IAEA’s own research and interviews.

The confidential report released and obtained by The Associated Press Wednesday is significant in wrapping up the probe and in preparing the ground for the lifting of sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program.

Associated Press