An exiled Iran opposition group said Friday that it had uncovered a secret new military site run by a shadowy defense ministry research unit which they fear is being used for testing in the Iranian nuclear program.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said that work on the site in Sorkheh-Hessar, east of Tehran, is used by sections of the secretive Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, overseen by the country's defense ministry.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
A section devoted to geophysics known as the Chamran Group is at the site and, according to the NCRI, "Works on projects related to underground nuclear tests."
Their focus has included tests "for preliminary explosions to build nuclear weapons and record results by seismometers." Previous tests had taken place at a site south of Semnan, the group said.
It alleged that Iran had "engaged in the secret and illicit purchase of military-grade sensitive seismometers from Russia" to carry out the work.
The NCRI argued its findings showed again that Iran was breaching the terms of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal signed with world powers.
The United States walked out of the deal under President Donald Trump in 2018, but European signatories have sought to keep it alive.
"Our revelation today once again proves the fact that the JCPOA did not prevent the mullahs' activities to acquire nuclear weapons and even the regime has reneged on its commitments stipulated in the JCPOA," the NCRI said.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon, insisting that its atomic program is aimed at producing energy. But Western powers have long suspected that the drive seeks to make nuclear weapons.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
The NCRI is the political wing of the People's Mojahedin (MEK), a group that initially backed the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ousted the shah but rapidly fell out with the new authorities.
Its fighters took the side of Saddam Hussein in the Iraq-Iran war, and the group is now based in exile.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
