On Feb. 12, 2004, DigitalGlobe released a
QuickBird satellite image of the nuclear plant at Bushehr, Iran, in
response to a report that United Nations inspectors at the plant
have discovered undeclared designs of an advanced centrifuge used to
enrich uranium. The image was collected July 6, 2002.
On Nov. 10, 2003, Iran officially notified the International Atomic
Energy Agency that it would allow snap inspections of its nuclear
sites and stop uranium enrichment. Russia has been helping Iran
complete construction of the nuclear power plant at Bushehr, but it
recently slowed progress on the plant to pressure Iran to comply
with additional international safeguards. In particular,
Russia has urged Iran to sign a bilateral agreement pledging to
return all spent nuclear fuel to Russia.
click image to enlarge
The United States and Israel have pressured Russia to halt
construction at Bushehr, charging that Iran is trying to develop
nuclear weapons.
