The IAEA had been complaining for months that Iran had not provided the information and access required to "clarify" allegations of nuclear weapons-related experiments. But the immediate IAEA response to the Iranian offer, as well as the previous history of the Marivan issue, suggest that the nuclear agency is less than eager to take advantage of it. That reason appears to be because the Agency's source for the alleged experiments failed to identify the site where the alleged experiments were supposed to have been conducted.

The Agency's November 2011 report asserted that "information" provided by a "Member State" indicated that Iran had carried out "large scale high explosive experiments" in "the region of Marivan" using a technique for initiating an explosive charge found in "some known nuclear explosive devices."

In a significant development in the IAEA-Iran process for resolving the "possible military dimensions" (PMD) issue however, Iran's Permanent Representative to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, told the Board of Governors during its quarterly conference November 21 that Iran was ready to give the IAEA "one managed access" to the western Marivan region to "prove" that the allegations of nuclear weapons experiments were "wrong and baseless." He said such alleged experiments "could easily be traced if the exact site would be visited."

The Iranian diplomat said the unnamed Member State that had made the charge—which he said was either the United States or Israel—"should specify the site's exact location. Otherwise it should confess that it has misled the IAEA with false information." Najafi added, "In fact, there is no such location at all."