Nuclear Trigger Project Alleged

An Iranian exile group accused the Tehran regime Thursday of conducting a secret program to develop a nuclear triggering mechanism using smuggled materials.

Iran “is getting very close to the point of industrial production” of a neutron initiator required to set off the fission chain reaction for a nuclear bomb, the exiles alleged at a news conference in Paris.

The allegations were made by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a group dedicated to overthrowing the Iranian regime. The exiles have a mixed record: some allegations about secret Iranian nuclear facilities were accurate, but others proved unfounded, Western diplomats say. And the group is the political wing of a cult-like organization that the United States and the European Union have designated as a terrorist group.

The International Atomic Energy Agency responded cautiously Thursday.

“If there’s anything that seems legitimately of concern, we would demand an explanation or ask to check it out on the ground” in Iran, said Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the Vienna-based agency.

Tension between the West and Iran is intensifying. President Bush has criticized Tehran, most recently in his State of the Union address Wednesday, and U.S. officials warn of potential military action to prevent Iran from developing nuclear arms.

European diplomats are trying to persuade Iran to end its nuclear program in exchange for economic incentives. Iranian negotiators are scheduled to meet with British, French and German envoys Monday in Geneva. But Iranian officials have expressed impatience with the talks. There is a sense that time is growing short.

“We must be extremely vigilant and maintain the diplomatic pressure,” French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie told journalists Thursday. “On the part of the Europeans, there is a sentiment of urgency.”

The exiles accused Iran of manipulating the West while people at secret military labs made progress toward a nuclear trigger by mixing two key materials: polonium-210 and beryllium, a metal alloy. The beryllium has been produced domestically and smuggled from an unnamed country by a Tehran front company, said Mohamed Mohaddessin, an exile leader.

“All of the activities ... are illegal,” Mohaddessin said. “Because of the failure of the European approach, Tehran is advancing toward critical stages in its quest for a nuclear bomb.”

International inspectors had already detected attempts to import beryllium but no signs of successful smuggling, a Western diplomat said. To produce polonium-210, the Iranians would have to use the Tehran Research Reactor, a facility under IAEA control, the envoy noted.

Inspectors will also assess the allegation made Thursday that Iran has developed the technical expertise to produce a neutron generator, another potential component for a weapon, the diplomat said.

“It would be extremely important if it were true, but we haven’t found any evidence,” the diplomat said.

The group named Iranian officials and provided addresses of alleged secret facilities. Mohaddessin denied claims that U.S. or Israeli spy agencies were feeding intelligence to the exiles.

But when asked about contact with governments, he said his group shared data with the IAEA and others “who must know this intelligence.”