Operation MERLIN
The operation Merlin was a member of the CIA in 2000 to delay by changed plans an electrical device for explosives the suspected program to build nuclear weapons in Iran.
course
The journalist James Risen of the New York Times , in his book State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration described in 2006 the details of this company. A Russian nuclear physicist was selected to hand over the plans to the Iranians. In the Soviet Union he had worked in a center for nuclear weapons in Sarov , which had the code name "Arsamas-16".
In San Francisco , CIA officers and experts in the field of nuclear technology introduced him to the details of the operation. He was told that the operation was intended to provide details of the Iranians' nuclear program. However, the Iranians already have this technology and there is no serious intention associated with this planned handover of a building plan. As a next step in the realization of the company, the Russian physicist was commissioned to establish contacts with Iranian scientists. At a conference he was able to establish contact with an Iranian professor from Tehran .
After the latter asked him what information he had that could be useful for the Iranians, he was instructed to visit an official Iranian mission in Vienna . In order to avoid premature detection of the operation, the operation was started with the status special access program . Linked to this was that the Russian physicist had to go to Vienna on his own. In the meantime he had doubts whether he should hand over the plans for the TBA-480 detonator in a sealed envelope to the Iranians. Because he had pointed out the CIA officers at the first inspection of errors that would exist in the construction plan. But they reassured him and mentioned that everything was in the best order.
Before the handover, the Russian physicist decided to enclose a letter he had written with the construction plan. In this letter he offered to help build the machine if there were any problems. He also mentioned that he wanted to be rewarded for his services. At the Iranian mission at Heinestrasse 19, he couldn't reach anyone, so he put the envelope in the mailbox. According to Risen, this ended the operation.
Jeffrey Sterling
Former CIA agent Jeffrey Sterling was charged with informing the journalist Risen for passing on classified material relating to Operation MERLIN and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Sterling, an acquaintance of Risen, denies the act.
literature
- James Risen : State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration . Free Press, January 2006, ISBN 0-7432-7066-5 (German edition: State of War - The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration , Hamburg 2006, ISBN 3-455-09522-4 )
Web links
- US blunder aided Iran's atomic aims, book claims , Guardian Unlimited. 2006 January 5.
- George Bush insists that Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. So why, six years ago, did the CIA give the Iranians blueprints to build a bomb? , Guardian Unlimited. 2006 January 5.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Matt Zapotosky: "He was fired from the CIA and jailed for a leak. Now he's trying to hang on." Washington Post February 21, 2016