Nuclear Sites
Lashkar Ab’ad - Laser enrichment
Lashkar Ab’ad – Laser enrichment
Lashkar Ab’ad was Iran’s pilot plant for laser isotope separation until 2003. This site contained equipment including copper vapor lasers (CVL) that were designed to produce enrichment levels of 3.5-7%. The IAEA reported that the facility would have been capable of HEU production once all planned equipment was installed. There were several foreign suppliers to the laser enrichment program, including the United States, Germany, and Russia.
Iran took steps to conceal this facility from the IAEA. The IAEA first asked to visit Lashkar Ab’ad in May 2003 after the NCRI identified the site and said it was related to gas centrifuge activities. Iran eventually relented and allowed inspection in August 2003. Iran initially declared that Lashkar Ab’ad was devoted to laser fusion research and laser spectroscopy, and claimed that its laser program was unrelated to uranium enrichment. Iran also claimed that no nuclear material had been involved in the experiments.
Iran changed its declaration and acknowledged to the IAEA in late-October 2003 that a pilot plant for laser enrichment had been established at Lashkar Ab’ad in 2000, after initial development work was conducted at TNRC. Iran also stated that uranium laser enrichment experiments had been conducted in late 2002 and early 2003 using previously undeclared imported natural uranium metal. It was only after this October revelation that the IAEA was allowed to take environmental samples at this site. Some of the material and equipment from Lashkar Ab’ad was moved to Karaj in May 2003 to avoid detection by the IAEA.
In its report of February 2008, IAEA safeguards officials visited Lashkar Abad and reported that the laboratories were currently run by a private company producing and
developing laser equipment for industrial purposes. The report also noted that the former laser equipment has been dismantled with some of it stored at the site. The IAEA added: “The management of the company provided detailed information on current and planned activities, including plans for extensive new construction work, and stated that they are not carrying out, and are not planning, any uranium enrichment activities.”