WASHINGTON, April 18 (UPI) -- A former U.N. weapons inspector claims satellite imagery indicates Iran is building underground nuclear facilities south of Tehran.
David Albright, a former U.N. weapons inspector who now works for the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, said commercially available pictures show construction work on two huge fuel enrichment halls at Natanz, about 180 miles south of Tehran. Each structure is about 480-by-510 foot, he told The Telegraph.
He said the facilities appear to be planned to house centrifuges that are used to enrich uranium, which can be used in nuclear weapons, The Telegraph reported Tuesday.
"Both cascade halls have been covered in dirt. Trucks and steamrollers are laying what appears to be a grey material, possibly cement, over the soil," Albright's report said.
Iran claims its nuclear development is solely for the generation of electricity but there is widespread international suspicion of a covert weapons program.
