The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn. A secret replica of Iran’s nuclear facilities there has helped scientists devise estimates of Tehran’s ability to build a nuclear weapon. Credit National Nuclear Security Administration, via Reuters
New York Times: Atomic Labs Across the U.S. Race to Stop Iran
WASHINGTON — When diplomats at the Iran talks in Switzerland pummeled Department of Energy scientists with difficult technical questions — like how to keep Iran’s nuclear plants open but ensure that the country was still a year away from building a bomb — the scientists at times turned to a secret replica of Iran’s nuclear facilities built deep in the forests of Tennessee.
There inside a gleaming plant at the Oak Ridge nuclear reservation were giant centrifuges — some surrendered more than a decade ago by Libya, others built since — that helped the scientists come up with what they told President Obama were the “best reasonable” estimates of Iran’s real-life ability to race for a weapon under different scenarios.
“We know a lot more about Iranian centrifuges than we would otherwise,” said a senior nuclear specialist familiar with the forested site and its covert operations.
Update #1: There's a Secret Replica of Iran's Nuclear Facilties Hidden in Tennessee -- Popular Mechanics
Update #2: US Atomic Scientists Worked to Guide Iran Nuclear Talks -- Newsmax
WNU Editor: I suspect that it is this facility that has given the White House their best estimates on Iran's nuclear "breakout time" .... The White House Kept Iran's Nuclear Breakout Time A Secret.
