Video Tour of Iran’s Nuclear Sites

Posted by Matt in May 20th, 2009

Video Tour of Iran’s Nuclear Sites: Part 1
The following is a three part video tour of Iran’s nuclear sites, obtained by NBC News in 2005 and transcribed and translated by ISIS. It is a promotional video produced by Iran and it contains much propaganda. For instance, the narrator repeats the assertion that the technology underpinning Iran’s nuclear program is indigenous–but much of it was and is procured from outside the country. And when the narrator discusses the Fuel Manufacturing Plant at Esfahan in Part 2 of the video, he only mentions the fuel’s potential use in power reactors for electricity production (like at Bushehr)–and makes no mention of its potential use in the Arak heavy water reactor currently under construction. When operating optimally, the reactor at Arak will produce about 9 kilograms of plutonium annually, or enough for about two nuclear weapons each year, should Iran choose to separate plutonium from the reactor’s irradiated fuel. Furthermore, Part 1 contains a tour of the Saghand uranium mine and the narration would lead the viewer to think that the Saghand mine is operational, but it is not. Also in Part 1 is a description of the Aradakan Yellow Cake Production Plant that implies that the facility is nearing completion, if not already operational. In reality, the facility is still under construction, and recent commercial satellite imagery indicates that little progress has been made over the last four years.