IAEA Supported Iran in Nuclear Research – Bild

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reportedly supported Iranian nuclear researchers for years, sending them to Russia for training. This revelation comes from confidential documents concerning Iran’s nuclear programme, as reported by Bild.

The IAEA, a United Nations body, has long declared that Iran has expanded its nuclear programme. However, it has also provided support to Iranian researchers, including sending them to Russia for training and offering financial assistance in the field.

According to the documents obtained by Bild, the IAEA collaborated with Javad Karimi-Sabet, who has been on the US sanctions list since 2020 and is regarded as a key figure in the development of Iran’s nuclear bomb. Internal emails reveal that the IAEA paid Karimi. Due to sanctions, a bank transfer was impossible, so the payment was made in cash.

In 2018, after the United States withdrew from the nuclear agreement with Iran and imposed stricter sanctions on Tehran, Iran stopped adhering to the rules and limited external oversight. In response, the IAEA launched programmes to finance Iranian nuclear science.

In late 2019, the IAEA formulated the goal of project IRA2018001 in consultation with Iranians: “The activity will be aimed at enhancing the qualifications and knowledge of scientists and improving the hardware and software infrastructure, which will contribute to the improved operation and use of research reactors,” according to the report.

Research reactors are considered a potential source of plutonium, one of the key materials needed to build a nuclear bomb, along with uranium enriched to 90%.

Additionally, the IAEA financed numerous training programmes for scientists from Tehran in Russia. According to the available data, selected experts sometimes spent weeks there under the auspices of Russia’s Rosatom.

“The IAEA’s technical cooperation programme supports member states in developing and managing nuclear knowledge,” confirmed an IAEA representative regarding the training in Russia.

Bild notes that the organisation should have ensured that Iranians did not gain any knowledge about nuclear weapons during their training.

The IAEA’s involvement in supporting Iranian nuclear research while simultaneously overseeing the country’s nuclear activities raises questions about the organisation’s role and effectiveness.

The revelation that the IAEA provided financial support and facilitated training in Russia, especially involving a sanctioned individual like Karimi-Sabet, could undermine international trust in the agency.

The IAEA’s technical cooperation programme aims to assist member states in using nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

However, the training and financial support provided to Iranian researchers, given Iran’s contentious nuclear ambitions, suggest a complex dynamic where peaceful and potentially military uses of nuclear technology intersect.