American intelligence agencies have significantly increased their spying operations on Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor after it had unexpectedly discharged fuel rods from the facility in October, The Wall Street Journal reported. U.S. fears over the security of weapons-grade plutonium in the reactor believed to have prompted the move.
Bushehr nuclear power plant, situated on Iran's southwestern coast has come under increased U.S. surveillance that is conducted as part of Pentagon's fleet of drones operating over the Persian Gulf, the report said citing unnamed officials. The officials elaborated that the surveillance operations include interception of visual images and audio communications coming from the reactor complex.
According to officials, U.S. agencies stepped up the spying operations on the reactor after it became fully operational in August and especially after it discharged fuel rods from the plant in October.
Iran had suggested that American agencies were spying on its operations at Bushehr and Iranian military aircrafts had fired at an unarmed U.S. Air Force Predator drone involved in a surveillance mission over international waters in the Persian Gulf.
However, U.S. officials maintained that the drone was on a usual surveillance mission and denied spying on the reactor. Tehran had formally protested the U.S. spying activities in a Nov. 29. letter to the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in which it accused the United States of repeatedly violating Iranian airspace with its drone flights, the newspaper reported.
