Iran Quietly Expanding Nuclear Program to Build Weapons Under ‘Kavir Plan’ Codename, Dissident Group Says

Iran has been expanding its nuclear program to build weapons under the direct oversight of its so-called “supreme leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a coalition of Iranian opposition groups revealed on Tuesday.

At an event in Washington, DC, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which seeks to overthrow the country’s Islamist regime, unveiled explosive new intelligence alleging that Tehran has been working to build nuclear weapons while telling the world its expanding nuclear program is only meant for peaceful civilian uses.

The revelations, sourced from the NCRI’s network of dissidents inside Iran, suggest a sophisticated operation named “Kavir Plan” has intensified over the past 15 years with the aim of developing boosted nuclear warheads for ballistic missiles with ranges exceeding 3,000 kilometers.

The disclosure came one day after the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, warned that Iran’s continued accumulation of highly enriched uranium nearing weapons-grade levels poses a serious concern that cannot be ignored.

“Uranium enrichment per se is not a forbidden activity, which is something my Iranian counterparts always tell me,” IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said at a press conference following the agency’s Board of Governors opening meeting in Vienna on Monday.

“At the same time, when you accumulate and continue to accumulate, and you are the only country in the world doing this at a level very, very close to what is needed for a nuclear explosive device, then we cannot ignore it,” Grossi continued. “There is no medical or civilian use for it. That is why it is important for us.”

The IAEA’s latest report to its 35-nation Board of Governors on the Iranian nuclear program, dated May 31, disclosed that Iran carried out secret nuclear activities with material not declared to the IAEA at three locations that have long been under investigation. It also found that Iran has previously conducted multiple implosion tests — a crucial military capability for developing an atomic bomb.

A separate IAEA report sent to member states the same day said Iran’s stock of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent purity, close to the roughly 90 percent of weapons grade, had skyrocketed in recent months. According to an analysis of the report’s finding by the Institue for Science and International Security, if Iran chooses to “break out” toward a bomb, it has enough highly enriched uranium at two of its main facilities, Fordow and Natanz, “for 11 nuclear weapons in the first month, enough for 15 nuclear weapons by the end of the second month, 19 by the end of the third month, 21 by the end of the fourth month, and 22 by the end of the fifth month.”

Meanwhile, the US and Iran have been conducting nuclear talks over the past several weeks. Diplomatic efforts have yet to yield results as both adversaries clash over multiple issues including Iran’s demand to maintain its domestic uranium enrichment program — a condition that US President Donald Trump has publicly rejected.

Iran’s nuclear program, according to the NCRI, has consistently aimed at building nuclear weapons, with the regime shifting tactics to adopt a more covert structure that allows the leadership to conceal its activities following the exposure of its weapons program about two decades ago.

The Kavir Plan is now the focal point of the regime’s nuclear activities, the NCRI argued on Tuesday. Headquartered at the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND) in Tehran, the program allegedly maintains a constellation of secret sites throughout Iran. These include warhead development facilities at the Shahroud and Semnan sites, the Ivanaki research site, underground test operations in Sorkheh Hesar, and explosives testing at Parchin. Intelligence also points to renewed activity at the Sanjarian site, where engineers are said to be developing shock wave generators required for simultaneous detonation in nuclear weapons.

A central point of the plan is Semnan Province in northern Iran, where accoridng to the NCRI the Iranian military has implemented a security regime dividing the region into three zones: Red, Yellow, and Blue. The Red Zone, encompassing 9 percent of the province, is entirely off-limits to civilians and houses key military installations. The Yellow Zone, which makes up 27 percent, is used for missile testing and is a no-fly area requiring special permits for entry. The remaining Blue Zone, while technically open to civilians, includes extensive environmental protection areas under strict surveillance.

Within these restricted areas, the NCRI identified several important installations believed to be part of the Kavir Plan. These include the Rangin-Kaman site at Ivanaki, the Ghadir radar site for missile defense, and the Me’raj-1 complex in central Semnan, allegedly involved in arming the Simorgh missile with a nuclear warhead. Also of note are the Imam Reza Training Center at the Shahroud Missile Site, the Semnan Air Defense Complex, and logistics and missile defense facilities in Damghan and Shahroud. All these sites are under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an Iranian military force and internationally designated terrorist organization, or the Ministry of Defense.

To guard these assets, the NCRI explained, Tehran has put in place a complex counter-intelligence framework. A security unit known as the Kavir Security Unit, along with the IRGC’s Sahib al-Zaman Intelligence Base, oversees the region. Drone surveillance equipped with facial recognition cameras, satellite tracking, and map redactions are just some of the methods reportedly used to monitor and restrict access. Foreign nationals, especially Americans and Europeans visiting for scientific or environmental purposes, are frequently arrested or interrogated.

The NCRI argued that the Iranian government has engaged in a pattern of deception. According to the group, Tehran has never voluntarily revealed nuclear activities to the IAEA. Instead, information became public knowledge through whistleblowers, satellite imagery, or NCRI disclosures. The group accused the regime of a long-standing strategy of concealment, delay, and destruction of evidence.

The dissident organization argued that the recent escalation in nuclear activity stems from increased domestic repression, pointing to over 1,300 executions since Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian took office in August 2024. They added that the regime, facing its most fragile political moment in decades, is increasingly reliant on nuclear weapons as a form of political and military insurance.

Calling for a stronger international response, the NCRI urged global powers to immediately invoke the so-called “snapback” mechanism of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and several countries to reimpose UN sanctions on the regime before the relevant resolution expires in October. The dissident group also called for the permanent dismantling of Iran’s uranium enrichment programs, the elimination of Iran’s missile capabilities, and unrestricted IAEA inspections across all military and civilian facilities.

NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi, who testified before the US Congress earlier this year, reiterated her call on Tuesday for the international community to recognize the Iranian people’s right to resist the regime. She emphasized that regime change does not require foreign military intervention, only political support for the Iranian opposition.

“A democratic, non-nuclear Republic of Iran is not only possible; it is within reach,” Rajavi told lawmakers.

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