Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Bushehr - Housing

In 1974, the German contractor Siemens began construction of two 1,200-1,300 megawatt electric (MWe) pressurized water nuclear reactors near Bushehr. The German program included 2,100 German workers and roughly 7,000 Iranian workers. The resumption of work on the project by Russia in the 1990s did not appear to have resulted in any substantial expansion of the housing infrastructure by the mid-1990s.

Located north of the reactor site was a residential area, believed to be the housing area for the Iranian workers, with roughly 130 buildings covering total area of over 43,000 square meters. The total floorspace may be some multiple of this area, since the buildings may have a second floor. A large number of buildings in the area were 34 meters long and 12 meters wide. These buildings were present in all available imagery and were currently in various stages of disrepair, with some showing signs of construction and others of disuse.

Other features of the northern area included a concrete building with an area of roughly 3,000 square meters. Three fenced in areas were also present.

The larger residential area located northeast of the reactor site was quite extensive, with somewhat more than 500 buildings. Facilities included swimming pools, tennis courts, a park, and recreation buildings. This area was believed to be the living quarters of the Russian and Iranian technical workers.

The total area covered by the buildings in this section was nearly 192,000 square meters. There are 121 structures that were 15 x 13 meters, and 95 structures that were 8 x 15 meters. In addition, there were five houses that were believed to be for senior officials and their families with an area of about 300 square meters.

There was one security check point to this area and there were walls that divided the area into different sections, sometimes resulting in the blocking-off of roads and access points. It was believed that the wall was intended to divide the Iranians from the Russians. It was not present in the SPOT imagery, which would be consistent with the wall being constructed prior to the resumption of work by the Russians.