Bushehr Plant
Bushehr PlantIsrael National News; Archive

Iran is trying to cover its tracks at a nuclear testing site by removing traces of nuclear research, sources told the Associated Press.

The source from an unnamed country said intelligence officials noticed through satellite pictures that there had been an unusual amount of activity at the site, with the movement of a large number of vehicles. 

“Freight trucks, special haulage vehicles and cranes were seen entering and leaving... Some equipment and dangerous materials were removed from the site," the source told AP.

The activity was confirmed by sources in two other countries, whose officials did not reach the same conclusion that Tehran is trying to hide nuclear weapons research. All three countries noting the unusual activity are members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which declined to comment on the latest allegations.

The site at the large Parchin complex is suspected of being home to a large metal structure referred to earlier this month in an IAEA report as being used for explosive tests. The same site is used for research, development, and production of ammunition, missiles, and high explosives

The IAEA concluded in its report on November 8 that the steel chamber referred to in the new disclosure was designed for manufacturing an atomic bomb.

Iran’s postponements of IAEA attempts to visit the site have given the Islamic Republic time to try to sanitize the complex and cover its tracks, as it has allegedly done at previous nuclear facilities. One example was a nuclear site that was turned into a park before IAEA officials were able to visit for an inspection.