IAEA Deputy Director General Pierre Goldschmidt’s Statement to the Board of Governors confirms an account, which first appeared in The Washington Post, that the A.Q. Khan network offered Iran assistance with its centrifuge program in 1987.
Goldschmidt told the Board of Governors:
During a meeting on 12 January 2005 in Tehran, Iran showed the Agency a handwritten one-page document reflecting an offer said to have been made to Iran in 1987 by a foreign intermediary. While it is not entirely clear from the document precisely what the offer entailed, Iran has stated that it related to centrifuge technology acquisition. This document suggests that the offer included the delivery of: a disassembled sample machine (including drawings, descriptions, and specifications for production); drawings, specifications and calculations for a “complete plant”; and materials for 2000 centrifuge machines. The document also reflects an offer to provide auxiliary vacuum and electric drive equipment and uranium re-conversion and casting capabilities.
According to The Washington Post, the 1987 meeting took place in Dubai between three Iranian officials, a Sri Lankan businessman named Mohamed Farouq and a German named Heinz Mebus.