Roger Sherman - 7 January 2020
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RAISING THE STAKES, ESTMERE PROVIDES EVIDENCE TO BACK UP CLAIM ZORASAN HAS SECRETLY DEVELOPED NUCLEAR WEAPONS
A satellite of the Soltanabad nuclear facility, which the government claims is one of two
sites where the UZIR has secretly developed its nuclear capability.
Secretary for Defense Markus Fleming was among the officials who addressed an emergency meeting of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs this afternoon expanding upon allegations previously made by the prime minister. In his New Year’s address, Reginald Wilton-Smyth accused the Zorasani government of having “initiated the process of arming itself with missiles and weapons of mass destruction”.
Fleming outlined what the government found to be an “alarming trend”, accusing the Zorasani government of operating two nuclear facilities with the capacity to create nuclear warheads. Intelligence from Estmere and its allies indicates that Zorasan has missiles that are able to strike targets throughout much of southern and eastern Euclea. Such missiles, Fleming says, are capable of holding a nuclear warhead.
One such missile is the Zozanab-25, which has a range of 2,500km, covering all of Southern Euclea and over half of Gaullica. Another missile of concern is the Emad-ye Keshm (Pillar of Fury), which has a range of 1,250km and is a ground-attack cruise missile with considerable accuracy.
“What we know suggests that the Zorasani regime is close to having the ability to launch nuclear attacks on a number of Euclean capitals, population centers, and defense infrastructure” Fleming told the committee.
Director of the National Intelligence Service, Alexander Cunningham, also testified before the committee. He showed the committee satellite photos of two suspected sites, one being the Saranchand Technological Institute, near the southern city of Soltanabad and the other being the Jozdar Military Research and Development Facility, further south, near the city of Jozdar. The Director also made reference to sizeable activity near Mount Saghand. The mountain is close to a known uranium mine, owned by a business linked to the Zorasani military.
The NIS also reportedly estimates that Zorasan possesses up to 25,000 centrifuges, though the figure could be higher. Centrifuges are key for the production of weapons-grade plutonium.
Cunningham told committee members, “from our extensive investigations and analysis, we believe that both the Soltanabad and Jozdar facilities are being used to produce various key elements, including heavy water and plutonium. We also believe that Jozdar possesses a uranium enrichment capacity and that activity around Mount Saghand is indicative of an engineering project.” He further said, “we believe that the Zorasani military may have moved some sections of its programme underground.”
Cunningham said that cooperation with Estmere’s allies, both within the Euclean Defense Treaty Organization (EDTO) and the Collective Intelligence Agreement (CIA), had yielded “troubling” finds.
A joint effort with the CIA - which consists of Estmere, Senria, and Valentir - led Cunningham to conclude that it was “more than likely” Xiaodongese nuclear scientists had assisted Zorasan in developing its nuclear capability.
“By tracking the travels of a number of [Xiaodongese nuclear scientists], we remain confident in our conclusion that Rongzhuo has been involved in this process” the NIS director testified.
The Director referenced their visits to both sites at Soltanabad and Jozdar, as well as their duration of stay.
“While academic exchanges are common, what is not, is the repeated exchanges to facilities involved in nuclear weapons research, let alone the three to four month stays. The locations and duration, is what drives our belief that the Xiaodongese government is actively proliferating nuclear weapons” he told the committee.
The accusation marks a serious escalation in tensions between Ashcombe and Zahedan, with some cabinet secretaries lobbying for sanctions against the Zorasani government.
When asked by the committee if this was something the cabinet had considered, Fleming said “conversations were ongoing” and indicated that “there are voices who believe sanctions would act as a preventative measure”. He declined to say whether or not sanctions would be pursued.
A statement released by the prime minister said he was “alarmed” by the intelligence community's findings and promised to raise the issue further with EC leaders. “This development poses a direct threat to the Euclean way of life, in the coming days and weeks we will discuss this threat thoroughly,” the statement said.
Suspicions over a Zorasani nuclear weapons of program had surfaced before. During the late 1980s, following the democratization of Etruria from 1983 onward, the Etrurian intelligence services began to expand its political links to its Euclean neighbors. In 1989, they brought Zorasan’s immense study of nuclear physics and chemistry to the attention of Euclean governments. This triggered a joint Estmerish-Gaullican intelligence operation from 1989 to 1991 which further rose suspicions, however, the emergence of the “Saffron government”, a pro-democracy reformist government, brought an end to the operation. Hoping not to jeopardize the new standing of the pro-Euclean government, both Estmere and Gaullica withheld their intelligence until 1996 when they brought the to the Atomic Energy Commission. Knowing the Zorasani government would not only fully cooperate but likely sign the anti-nuclear Treaty of Shanbally, what the AEC inquiry revealed was a massively restrained and controlled operation dedicated to theoretical work and limited enrichment. Yet, in wake of the findings, Zorasan went on to dismantle these facilities and the government denounced nuclear weapons as “those of the morally dead and spiritually empty.” The AEC claimed earlier suspicions were understandable and officially cleared Zorasan of pursuing nuclear weapons.
Wilton-Smyth is also set to travel to Keisi next weekend to meet with leaders from Senria and Valentir to discuss growing tensions with Xiaodong and Zorasan, where he has also promised to raise the issue.
No formal response has yet come from the Zorasani government, though sources are indicating that the government will dismiss the revelations as more “Estmerish propaganda and slander.”
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