Iran prevents nuclear site tracking

JERUSALEM, July 15 (UPI) -- Iran has roofed in its nuclear compound in Arak to prevent satellite monitoring of the facility, western intelligence agencies say.

Based on information received from western intelligence agencies, inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency fear the move is an attempt by the Islamic republic to hide plutonium manufactured at the site in preparation for creation of a nuclear bomb, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Aharonoth said in a report published Wednesday.

Arak is about 150 miles south of Tehran.

Satellite imagery from 2007 clearly showed the reactor's structures, the newspaper said. Roofs were recently constructed over the entire compound, preventing all photographic or satellite imagery, the newspaper said. For many months, Iran has barred IAEA inspectors from visiting the site.

Experts in the German Foreign Intelligence Service told Stern magazine Iran will be able to produce atomic bombs, perform underground nuclear tests and "set off a uranium bomb within six months."

The report, to be published Thursday, quotes the IAEA in Vienna as saying Iran has installed more than 7,000 centrifuges at the nuclear power plant in Natanz, with 4,290 in operation since the beginning of June. The report says 1.3 tons of uranium have already been enriched -- enough for one or two nuclear bombs.