Unverified nuclear-weapons claims presented at NCRI news conferences, 2004-2008
As NCRI foreign affairs chair, Mohaddessin presented claims in 2004 and 2008 that Iran was secretly pursuing nuclear weapons, including Khan-network uranium and warhead sites near Tehran. Outlets reported the claims could not be independently verified; diplomats and analysts questioned them, and Iran called them lies or forgeries. The group's 2002 Natanz and Arak disclosures were later confirmed.
Editorial timeline of public reporting, not a legal finding.
- Paris news conference: claims of Khan-network uranium and a secret Tehran enrichment site - The Washington Post reported that at a Paris news conference on November 17, 2004, Mohaddessin said the A.Q. Khan network had delivered a small quantity of highly enriched uranium to Iran and, using satellite photos, pointed to a military complex in northeast Tehran where he said uranium was being enriched. The Post said the group gave no evidence; he said its sources were "100 percent sure". Powell says Iran pursuing nuclear bomb
- Diplomats and analysts question the 2004 claims - The Washington Post reported that, according to Western diplomats, the IAEA had no information supporting the NCRI claims, and some diplomats and arms experts privately discounted them as aimed at undermining Iran's new deal with Britain, France and Germany. It noted many of the group's assertions after Natanz had proven inaccurate. A Carnegie Endowment analysis said the group may have its own agenda and that Iran called the claims lies. Powell says Iran pursuing nuclear bomb
- Brussels news conference: claims Iran accelerated weapons work and built a warhead site - The Associated Press reported that at a Brussels news conference Mohaddessin said Iran had entered "a new phase" of its nuclear project, with a command and control center for a bomb and a warhead site southeast of Tehran, and called the December 2007 US intelligence estimate "not accurate". AP said the claims could not be independently verified and much of the group's information since 2002 had not been publicly verified. Iranian opposition: Tehran accelerated nuclear weapons program
- Der Spiegel compares the presentation to Iraq WMD claims - Der Spiegel described journalists in a Brussels hotel listening to Mohaddessin's satellite-photo presentation unsure what to believe, and recalled the 2003 claims about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. It wrote that most of the group's claims since 2002 could not be independently verified. IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said experts would take a serious look at the material before deciding whether to pursue it. Atomstreit: Exil-Iraner praesentieren Luftbilder angeblicher Waffenfabriken
- Iran's UN envoy alleges fabricated evidence; Mohaddessin points to Khojir - RFE/RL reported that after IAEA documents suggesting weapons work beyond 2003 were shown to its board, Iran's UN ambassador told AP the US was getting fabricated, unreliable intelligence from the MKO. There was no immediate confirmation the group was a source. Mohaddessin said the NCRI had given the IAEA evidence and that Iran should open its Khojir site to inspectors if it was sincere. Iran: Tehran Dismisses Alleged Evidence Of Secret Nuclear Program