Iran Received 4 Nuclear Warheads from Kazakhstan in 90's

I read this a long while back and finally went through the effort to track it down. I have always wondered why the US doesn't use this info in their talk about Iran going nuclear. The following is from the www.jvim.com site in their June 1998 intelligence briefing section. A google search with all of the following keywords also got me more confirmation about the story: "Jerusalem Post" iran nuclear warheads 1998

If this is true, Iran is already a nuclear power.

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JERUSALEM POST REPORTS THAT IRAN HAS UP TO 4 NUCLEAR BOMBS

The Jerusalem Post reported that according to Iranian government documents it obtained and delivered to the Israeli government, which U.S. congressional experts have found to be authentic, Iran received up to four nuclear warheads from Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic, in the early 1990's and Russian experts maintained them. According to the Jerusalem Post, "The documents...contain correspondence between Iranian government officials and leaders of the Revolutionary Guards that discusses Iran's successful efforts to obtain nuclear warheads from former Soviet republics."

Tell that to Bush or e-mail CIA about it.

I'm sure they'd offer you a job, haha.

Hey Elhardt, can you tell me the link of the article?

FAS covered this a while back, if that's of any help.

Federation of American Scientists

I found the original JPost article. Oddly enough the FAS article has the wrong date on it.

I have not yet found the "January 20, 1992, by the US Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare of the House Republican Research Committee" listed in the reports. It would be nice to see it.

A brief search using Google news archive timeline has the first (archived) news report on May 1, 1992 by the LA Times, and the Charlotte Observer. Both stories look identical and both appear to quote the Associated Press, who in turn quotes The European newspaper, who quoted "a secret report from the Russian Foreign Intelligence Agency."

IRAN IS REPORTED TO HAVE 2 NUCLEAR WARHEADS

Source: EDITH LEDERER, Associated Press
Iran has obtained at least two nuclear warheads that had been reported missing from Kazakhstan, The European newspaper said Thursday. The article is based on a secret report from the Russian Foreign Intelligence Agency. The European did not say how it had obtained the report. The European quoted the report as saying that several nuclear warheads vanished from the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in Kazakhstan, which the republic`s president, Nursultan Nazarbayev,

Published on May 1, 1992, Page 1A, Charlotte Observer, The (NC)

As a side note, if you use the timeline to look at 1991 with the same keyword search, you'll find this interesting bit:

On the important problem of arms control, Cheney and General Powell tried to reach consensus on Department of Defense's position in order to deal more effectively with the State Department. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Cheney worried about the dangers of nuclear proliferation and effective control of nuclear weapons from the Soviet nuclear arsenal that had come under the control of newly independent republics — Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan — as well as in Russia itself. Cheney warned about the possibility that other nations, such as Iraq, Iran, and North Korea, would acquire nuclear components after the Soviet collapse.

encyclopedia.stateuniversity.com...

Merry Xmas everybody!


[edit on 12/24/07 by makeitso]

Well, now this is interesting...the CIA says they are close, now they say they are not close...Israel says they are close...I remember (and maybe someone can help me on this) around 2000 there was a report on CNN/AP that said Iran tested a nuke. There was some kind of seismic evidence present for this claim. Either way- the only people who know are the people running Iran.

I don't understand why your surprised. If anyone had a ton of oil money what the hell would be stopping you from buying a nuclear warhead? I doubt they are that hard for a giant nation to buy considering we produce thousands of them a year.

Originally posted by Dan5647
Hey Elhardt, can you tell me the link of the article?

The main website is
www.jvim.com...

But a direct link to the story there is
www.jvim.com...

Other people above have also posted some links. And you can also cut and paste into google the group of keywords in my first post that I mentioned and more sites will pop up.

I just thought this story was interesting because it seems people easily forget the past, or perhaps there's information overload and most people didn't even notice in the first place.

Originally posted by blowfishdl
I don't understand why your surprised. If anyone had a ton of oil money what the hell would be stopping you from buying a nuclear warhead?

I'm not sure it that's directed towards me, but I'm not surprised. It seems like it would be far easier and maybe even cheaper for Iran just to buy nuclear warheads then to try to start a nuclear program of their own.

What does surprise me is why the US government doesn't seem to know info like this that's out in the public. According to the article, the US confirmed the authenticity of the documents. So then what did they do? Forget all about it I guess.

So where have they been getting their tritium the last 15 years? Wal-Mart?

Maybe Kahn is still in business....

Originally posted by edsinger
So where have they been getting their tritium the last 15 years? Wal-Mart?

Maybe Kahn is still in business....

According to the man who busted Kahn, he is still in business.

www.carnegieendowment.org...

www.carnegieendowment.org...

[edit on 12/25/07 by makeitso]

reply to post by Elhardt


one check your sources if this was true it be all over the news and twn latest cia reports suggest iran abbandoned there programme years ago

and another thing your reading from the israeli post ofcourse they will make lies up after all they hate iran and beleaving there newpapers that is really low.
insted how about this israel has 250 illigal nuclear missiles aimed at every muslim country and every country allows this.

Well if it is a lie, it's a pretty bold and dangerous one. But it's of course possible. Yet, Iran has close ties to Russia and maybe those of the former Soviet Union, so it doesn't seem that unbelievable either. It's one of those things that needs further checking out before one can be sure either way.

As for Iran abandoning their nuclear program, that has little to do with this story. In fact, if they can just buy warheads then they wouldn't need their program. However the Iranian president still keeps making claims they have a nuclear program that will be for nuclear power and that nobody can stop them even when the CIA said they abandoned their program years before. So somebody is wrong, either the CIA or the Iranian president.

if it is true, the cia knows about it.

reply to post by Elhardt


yea fair enough but if ussians do sell nukes i think the west would know in a matter off moments and if iran was to buy bombs it would be to hot and risky.

but you never answered my question about the israelis alloud to have 250 nuclear weapons aimed a muslim world

Originally posted by manzoor
But you never answered my question about the israelis allowed to have 250 nuclear weapons aimed a muslim world

Israel has not declared itself a nuclear nation, and nobody gets on their tale about it.

One could surmise that Israel was created as a way to house nuclear weapons in the middle east by "allied" forces without any individual country having to take the heat for doing such a disgusting thing.

Why worry about Iran when Pakistan has nukes.
Pakistan paid the 9/11 head guy, not Iran or Iraq, or Afghanistan.

wooo wooo hold up your saying pakistan had something to do with 9/11 ok this is the strangeist conspicracy theory i heard please inlighten me

Originally posted by manzoor
reply to post by Elhardt

 

but you never answered my question about the israelis alloud to have 250 nuclear weapons aimed a muslim world

I didn't know you were asking a question. I just thought you were pointing out a double standard, though somebody else responded to you. I'm well aware of Israel's Jericho-2 nuclear missiles. But Israel isn't an aggressive nuclear threat. They've had nukes since the early 70's and they're only there for defense, they haven't used nukes against anybody. Ahmadinejad on the other hand has said he wants Israel wiped off the face of the map. That's why there is concern. Israel had already been attacked in 67 and 73 by Muslim countries. The Muslim world is one that can't be trusted, and you're not taking that into account.

well maybe because i am muslim and israel is a threat attacked in 67 yea well that land isnt theres its the palastinians and they were forced off.
for deffence well all the arab nations should have a handlfull of nukes just incase ww3