Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi (born circa 1961) is an Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

ian officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and a Professor of physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

 at the Imam Hussein University, Tehran

Tehran

Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...

. Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi has been subject to a UN Security Council asset freeze and travel notification requirements because the Council says the IAEA has asked to interview Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi and Iran has refused to make him available. With respect to Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi's work Iran has provided some information which the IAEA says "are not inconsistent with its findings", but the IAEA continues to seek corroboration of its findings.

According the UN designation, Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi is a senior Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics scientist and former head of the Physics Research Center (PHRC). The IAEA have asked to interview him about the activities of the PHRC over the period he was head, but he had refused.

Project 111 / Iranian Nuclear Weaponization Program

Western intelligence charges he is or was the man in charge of Iran's nuclear programme, Project 111. Western powers assert Project 111 is or was an attempt to create a nuclear bomb for Iran, though Iran claims its program is solely for civilian purposes and that the information provided by Western intelligence agencies is fake or forged. According to the New York Times, Mr. Fakrizadeh is described in classified portions of American intelligence reports as deeply involved in an effort to design a nuclear warhead for Iran. The United States is reportedly keeping pressure on him.

An internal 2007 Iranian document leaked to the Sunday Times identified Fakhrizadeh as the chairman of the Field for the Expansion of Deployment of Advanced Technology (FEDAT), the cover name for the organization running Iran's nuclear weapons programme. The document, entitled Outlook for special neutron-related activities over the next 4 years, lays out a four-year plan to develop a uranium deuteride neutron initiator.

External links

www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,673802,00.html

"Leaked memo identifies man at head of Iran's nuclear programme" www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6955236.ece