Parchin is an Iranian military complex, located about 30 km southeast of Tehran. To the northwest of Parchin in the Barjamali Hills, a test range for liquid-propellant missile engines is part of the Shahid Hemat Industrial Group (SHIG) research facility, where signature of engine test stand firing probably including technology from the Russian SS-4 "Sandal" missile was confirmed by American spy satellite August, 1997.
On December 15, 1997, according to a report in The Washington Post, SHIG conducted at least a sixth 1997 test of an engine needed for an 800-mile range ballistic missile. The test was either sixth or eighth during 1997, according to available intelligence. It is reported the Russian Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute [TSAGI] contracted in early 1997 to build a wind tunnel at SHIG, for both Iranian and Russian missile designers to refine the Shahab-3missile. [1]
Allegedly [2] the site was for producing HMX, a high-powered explosive needed for non-nuclear "lenses" to trigger nuclear implosion devices. Although under the NPT rules Iran is not required to allow inspectors into its military bases, on January 13, 2005, IAEA inspectors were allowed partial access to the Parchin military base as a confidence building measure. [3] The IAEA’s February 2006 report [4] notes that "The Agency did not observe any unusual activities in the buildings visited, and the results of the analysis of environmental samples did not indicate the presence of nuclear material at those locations." Visual inspection showed that sites were not as capable as suggested by satellite imagery. [5]