Iranian Nuclear Test Successful
May 17, 2012
Tehran, Iran
Atlasian intelligence has confirmed, despite previously denying they were pursuing a nuclear weapons program, that at approximately 5 P.M. Iran Standard Time today, the Islamic Republic of Iran conducted an underground nuclear test, the first test of a nuclear weapon by Iran. The test occurred after IAEA inspectors were expelled from the nation, and despite sanctions on the Iranian economy. The test, carried out near the city of Yazd in the massive and uninhabited Kavir-e Namak salt desert, was believed to be successful, according to seismic data from the UN monitoring station in Turkmenistan and Iranian reports. The bomb was believed to have been completely manufactured in Iran with little to no foreign assistance. Iran's leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini was quoted as saying that "Iran is now on par with the leading nations of the world. This great advancement in our scientific and technological capabilities shall give us the status we deserve. This is a historic achievement for the revolution, and shall lead to regional peace and stability". As part of this statement from the Ayatollah, Iran also reiterated their desire of a negotiation of their border with Iraq, particularly concerning the area around the Shatt al-Arab/Arvand Rūd and the al-Fakkah oil field (including neighboring fields); they also called for support for demonstrators in Bahrain and objected to the presence of Saudi and Emirati troops in the nation, and called for the withdrawal of the Atlasian Fifth Fleet from the region.
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