Iranian Exile Says Uranium Enriched at Secret Site

PARIS, FRANCE - An Iranian exile accused Tehran of secretly purifying uranium for use in nuclear weapons at a recently-constructed underground facility at a military complex called Parchin. "Iran has completed an underground tunnel-like facility in Parchin, which is now engaged in laser enrichment," said Alireza Jafarzadeh, an Iranian exile who has reported accurately in the past about hidden atomic facilities in Iran.

"This underground site is camouflaged and built in an area of Parchin that deals with the chemical industry," he told Reuters by telephone from Washington, citing "well-placed sources inside the Iranian regime."

Iranian officials were not immediately available for comment, and Tehran has repeatedly denied carrying out any nuclear work at Parchin.

Jafarzadeh said the enrichment work was linked to "Iran's secret nuclear weapons program."

Enrichment is a process of purifying uranium for use as fuel for power plants or weapons. Iran says it no longer does any work with laser enrichment, a high-tech but inefficient method of purifying uranium.

Iran has said a tunnel complex under a uranium conversion plant at Isfahan had been built to store equipment for protection in case of U.S. or Israeli attack.

As the former spokesman for the Iranian exile group, the National Coalition of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Jafarzadeh revealed in August 2002 information about two hidden sites in Iran - an underground uranium enrichment at Natanz and a heavy-water production plant at Arak.

Iran later declared both sites to the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The IAEA declined to comment on Jafarzadeh's accusation, though spokesman Mark Gwozdecky said the agency "follows up every credible lead."

Iran has been reluctant to allow inspectors from the IAEA into Parchin, which lies some 30 km (19 miles) southeast of Tehran. Earlier this year Iran permitted limited inspections at the site but refused to allow them to return when the agency requested a follow-up inspection.