Satellite photos show Iran's nuclear clean-up

A US nonproliferation think tank on Thursday published commercial satellite images of an Iranian military site linked to suspected secret work on nuclear arms, saying they show that two buildings there were demolished as well as other activities that strengthen UN suspicions of a clean-up.

A US nonproliferation think tank on Thursday published commercial satellite images of an Iranian military site linked to suspected secret work on nuclear arms, saying they show that two buildings there were demolished as well as other activities that strengthen UN suspicions of a clean-up.

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The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security provides consultancy services for US government agencies focussed on nonproliferation and is considered an objective source of information on Iran's n-programme.

A senior diplomat who saw the photos displayed on the think tank's website and who is accredited to the International Atomic Energy Agency told The Associated Press they showed apparent cleanup work similar to that depicted on spy satellite photos supplied to the IAEA by member nations closely tracking Iran's nuclear activities. He demanded anonymity because his information was confidential.

The postings of the photos come a day after the IAEA showed what the senior diplomat said were similar images made available separately to the agency's 35-member nation board. Asked about the allegations, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's chief IAEA delegate, dismissed them as "baseless".

The IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog, named the Parchin military installation late last year as the site of suspected tests of high explosives designed to set off a nuclear charge.