Nuclear work continued surreptitiously at two undisclosed nuclear weapons development sites operated by the Revolutionary Guards after Iran signed a nuclear accord (JCPOA) with six world powers in 2015. Both sites are operated by the Revolutionary Guards. The revelations came from the US office of National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), in a special briefing this week.
One of the two covert nuclear sites is located at Sorkh-e Hesar near Tehran, just north of the Khojir missile development facility. The second, called the Marivan Site, is situated near the town of Abadeh in Isfahan province.
The first site never interrupted its operations. Its structure remains intact under the same supervision as before by the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND) and its director, IRGC Brig. Gen. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh Mahabadi, Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the NCRI US office ,explained. Indeed, it has expanded. As recently as 2017, the Chamran geophysics Group moved in to work on projects related to underground nuclear tests in tunnels while monitoring the impact of explosions.
The head of the Chamran group is named as Dr. Mohammad Javad Zaker, a lecturer at Beheshi university. His deputy is said to be Hamed Aber. The Sorkh-e Hesar’s location near the missile development center provides a military cloak and cover for movements around the clandestine nuclear project.
The second SPND site called the “Marivan Site,” is located near the town of Abadeh in Isfahan province and was first uncovered by the opposition group in 2017. It was built under the supervision of Ali Shamkhani, current Secretary General of the Supreme National Security Council. According to data based on the Nuclear Archive, a portion of which Israel seized in 2018, the Marivan Site was an important test site for large-sale high- explosive tests for the development of nuclear weapons.
“What we have found out is that this site and the area surrounding it is completely controlled by the IRGC. Locals are not allowed in the area,” said Jaffarzadeh.
The Atomic Energy Agency nuclear watchdog has raised concerns about “Marivan.” After its location was revealed, the watchdog demanded access to this and other locations suspected of nefarious nuclear and military activity.
