Japanese daily Sankei Shimbun today reported that Iran and North Korea are jointly operating a secret nuclear research institute in the Arab state.
The newspaper, citing sources familiar with the situation in the Middle East, stated that the two are also using the latest software to simulate nuclear weapons tests.
It states, “Iran’s nuclear research institute is operational in three secret places including underground beneath a Revolutionary Guards base,” and adds, “This shows us the seriousness of North Korea’s nuclear proliferation.”
According to the newspaper, ten North Korean nuclear weapon scientists are at the institute this year to guide and advise Iranian physicists.
The newspaper further claims that the institute has received from North Korea nuclear development software called ‘MCNPX2.6.0’ to analyze the interaction of particles, exposure levels and such like, techniques critical for the construction of nuclear reactors and nuclear warheads.
Meanwhile, Iran continues to deny developing nuclear weapons, and states that no military cooperation exists with North Korea. The IAEA believes the opposite, while there are also fears that Israel is moving towards a harder line that could include a willingness to launch a preemptive strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, similar to another such attack on a nuclear reactor under construction southeast of Baghdad, Iraq on June 7th, 1981.
