Tehran Secretly Expanding Fordow Nuclear Site, Leaked Documents Reveal

iran fordow documents
Written by
Shahriar Kia

Iran’s regime is planning to acquire more lands in Qom to expand one of its nuclear facilities, according to a document published by “GhyamSarnegouni” (“Rise to Overthrow” in Farsi), a group of Iranian dissidents that managed to breach the servers of the regime’s presidency on May 29 and gain access to a trove of classified documents and internal messages.

The newly published document, a letter stamped as “top secret,” is issued by the legal deputy of the regime’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, to the Vice President of Development of Management and Resources of the Atomic Energy Organization.

This letter, sent on March 13, 2023, confirms that, unlike Tehran’s repeated denial of expanding its nuclear weapons program, the regime continues to allocate resources to this effort.

“About the letter No. 81/M/5951 dated February 9, 2023, of the respected governor of Qom (picture of the letter and attached records) regarding the request of this organization for handing over 1,162,308 square meters of the national territories of registered land 1 of the main 47 of section 3 known as Gaumshili, located in Qom city, Qom province, for the development of Martyr Alimohammadi Enrichment Complex, in the implementation of Note 1, Article (69) of the law on the regulation of part of the government’s financial regulations, to be able to review the request, please complete and send the documents,” the letter writes in this regard.

Tehran Secretly Expanding Fordow Nuclear Site, Leaked Documents Reveal

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The Martyr Alimohammadi Enrichment complex is the infamous “Fordow” enrichment complex that was first exposed by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) based on the information obtained by its main constituent group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) organization.

On December 20, 2005, Mohammad Mohaddessin, the Chair of NCRI’s Foreign Affairs Committee, disclosed the existence of a secret nuclear facility and an underground tunnel used for nuclear projects near Qom in central Iran. He revealed that construction began in 2000 by an engineering division of the IRGC. Four years later, US, British, and French leaders confirmed the existence of the same site, Fordow, in a joint press conference on September 25, 2009.

The revealed letter urges the Iranian regime’s Atomic Energy Organization to take “usual necessary actions,” including: “Explanatory plan and documentation confirming the need and necessity of implementing the desired plan (documents related to the approval of the plan in the competent reference – notification of the development credit of the country’s Planning and Budget organization – mutual agreement (in case of exchange).”

It also urges the organization to acquire the “opinion of the country’s Planning and Budget organization regarding the amount of area required for the project (first of all, it iistry of Roads and Urban Development (National Land and Housing Organization)) regarding the supply situation from all aspects (including) from a legal perspective, vegetation cover, place of occurrence, history of handing over and progress of project implementation) (it is necessary to submit the UTM map of the desired area to the relevant department first).”

According to this exposed letter, Raisi’s legal deputy also urges the Vice President of Development of Management and Resources of Atomic Energy Organization to get the “Confirmation of the country’s property and documents registration organization regarding the location of the desired area on the cadastral layer.”

Acquiring nuclear weapons is a crucial element in the Iranian regime’s survival strategy. At first, the regime claimed it would not pursue nuclear energy and even halted the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, which was being built by German companies. However, the mullahs soon realized that a young and democratic Iranian society was threatening their rule. So, they changed their strategy and began pursuing nuclear weapons technology as an “insurance policy” against their eventual downfall. s necessary to provide all the information and documents required by that organization),” and the “opinion of the custodian body (according to the case of the organization of forests, pastures, and watershed management of the country with the Min

The regime instigated wars in neighboring countries and repressed its people under the guise of religious authority to maintain its grip on power. Pursuing nuclear weapons was the last pillar the regime deemed necessary to secure its hold on power. The regime believes that possessing nuclear weapons will help it dominate the region, blackmail foreign countries for concessions, and force the international community to accept its oppressive rule.

Despite the Iranian regime’s claims that its nuclear activities are for peaceful energy purposes, experts argue that it is not cost-efficient in Iran, given the country’s abundant reserves of oil and gas. Additionally, the regime concealed details of its nuclear program for almost 20 years, until it was brought to light by the Iranian Resistance. To the surprise of the international community, the Washington Office of the NCRI revealed the Natanz uranium enrichment site and Arak heavy water facility on August 14, 2002. Later inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency uncovered the regime’s advanced clandestine work on nuclear weapons.

The newly leaked documents once again confirm the Iranian Resistance’s warnings for the past four decades that the ruling theocracy is deceiving the international community to secretly advance its nuclear weapons program at the cost of the people’s worsening economic situation.

Over the past two and a half years, the West’s policy of appeasement has given Tehran the confidence to disregard sanctions, accelerate its nuclear weapons program, and strengthen its terror network without fear of reprisal. Every dollar flowing into the regime’s treasury directly contributes to terrorism, violence, and domestic repression. The strategy of appeasement lacks direction and is morally indefensible, especially when the Iranian people have categorically rejected this regime and are demonstrating their desire for a democratic, non-nuclear republic through persistent protests.

https://twitter.com/iran_policy/status/1648397230762541056

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At a press conference in Washington DC on May 31, the NCRI Office in the US disclosed details of Tehran’s systemic efforts to undermine international sanctions by using front companies in the petrochemical sector. The intelligence shared with the media confirmed that the West has turned a blind eye to a wide range of the regime’s efforts in rendering the international sanctions ineffective.

It is now time for the United States and other Western nations to take a resolute stance against the Iranian regime and uphold all six U.N. Security Council resolutions. By doing so, they will demonstrate unwavering support for the Iranian people’s aspirations toward a better future.

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