North Korea received $25 million for Iran tunnel technology, former diplomat says
Aformer North Korean diplomat said Pyongyang received about $25 million for providing Iran with tunnel technology that he understood was used extensively at underground nuclear facilities near Natanz and Isfahan.
Ryu Hyun-woo, a former acting ambassador at North Korea’s embassy in Kuwait, made the remarks in an interview published this month by the Korea Development Institute, a prominent South Korean think tank.
“North Korea provided Iran with tunnel design and technology in the early 2000s, receiving about $25 million,” Ryu said.
“I understand that North Korean tunnel technology was applied to a considerable extent at underground nuclear facilities in areas such as Natanz and Isfahan,” he added.
Canadian flag flies in front of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa
Canadian security agencies flagged an Iranian doctoral student at Carleton University as a threat to national security, saying his aerospace research could help advance Iran’s weapons programs, Global News reported on Wednesday.
The report said Mohammadreza Pakatchian, 41, was pursuing a PhD in aerospace engineering at the Ottawa university after beginning studies online in 2023.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service said Pakatchian worked for MAPNA, an Iranian company sanctioned by Canada over weapons of mass destruction concerns, and planned to return to the company after completing his studies, according to Global News.
“[He] represents a danger to the security of Canada,” the report quoted Canadian security records as saying.
Concerns over research and technology transfer
The Canada Border Services Agency said knowledge gained through his studies “could be used to contribute to advancing Iran’s military and weapons systems,” Global News reported.
Mohammadreza Pakatchian
Pakatchian worked as a designer of axial compressors, which can power jet engines and have civilian and military uses, the report said.
Canadian agencies also cited his association with Mahmoud Mani, an academic at Tehran’s Amirkabir University whose work focused on missile aerodynamics, rocket engines and ballistic missiles.
Pakatchian did not respond to requests for comment. His lawyer declined to comment, saying he did not have permission from his client, while CSIS, the border agency and Carleton University did not comment, Global News reported.
Pakatchian arrived in Canada in 2023, according to immigration records cited by Global News. In May, he asked the Federal Court to order the government to decide on his student visa and sought C$10,000 in compensation over delays.
The court dismissed his application on June 9, the report said.
A satellite image shows ongoing efforts to harden and strengthen a facility's two tunnel entrances at a complex near Nantanz, Iran, February 10, 2026.
A former North Korean diplomat said Pyongyang received about $25 million for providing Iran with tunnel technology that he understood was used extensively at underground nuclear facilities near Natanz and Isfahan.
Ryu Hyun-woo, a former acting ambassador at North Korea’s embassy in Kuwait, made the remarks in an interview published this month by the Korea Development Institute, a prominent South Korean think tank.
“North Korea provided Iran with tunnel design and technology in the early 2000s, receiving about $25 million,” Ryu said.
“I understand that North Korean tunnel technology was applied to a considerable extent at underground nuclear facilities in areas such as Natanz and Isfahan,” he added.
Ryu said reports of direct North Korean links to Hezbollah and Hamas were inaccurate.
“Many media outlets talk about North Korea-Hezbollah and North Korea-Hamas links, but that is not true,” he said.
He said North Korea was unlikely to have directly transferred tunnel expertise to either group, but added: “It cannot be ruled out that Iran transferred tunnel-related technology it received from North Korea to Hezbollah or Hamas.”
Earlier reporting
The comments follow a March report by The Washington Times, which said North Korean entities had supplied Iran with underground construction expertise and missile technology.
The newspaper cited Bruce Bechtol, a former US Marine and political science professor at Angelo State University, as saying North Koreans helped build underground facilities in Iran, including at Isfahan, in the early 2000s.
“Most of Iran’s underground facilities – including Isfahan – were built in the early 2000s by North Koreans,” Bechtol told the newspaper.
Bechtol said North Korea’s support also included missile systems, help with arms-factory construction, specialized components and technical personnel. Iran and North Korea have not publicly confirmed the reported transfers.
An underground complex built by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to protect former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei included a blast-resistant room and escape tunnels beneath central Tehran, according to information received by Iran International.
Iran International obtained architectural plans for the facility from an informed source, and a security source confirmed the documents’ authenticity.
The plans show that the IRGC spent about a decade building the underground compound, known as Habib Ebrahimi, next to Khamenei’s official residence.
The complex, named after Khamenei's former driver Habib Ebrahimi, who died before construction began, was built between 2009 and the late 2010s, according to the information.
Many Iranians fear that a diplomatic opening with the United States could come at the cost of renewed social restrictions at home, as reports of stricter hijab enforcement begin circulating following the recent war.
Over recent days, social media users have voiced concern that a period of relative tolerance toward personal freedoms may be coming to an end.
With the immediate external crisis easing and further negotiations with Washington expected, many fear authorities could once again shift their focus to domestic social controls.
There has been no official announcement confirming the return of the morality police. But reports circulating online suggest increased scrutiny of hijab compliance in several cities, particularly the religious centers of Qom and Mashhad, although many of the incidents remain difficult to independently verify.
IRGC Brigadier General Hassan Akbari (left), who supervised construction of the underground bunker complex while serving as one of Ali Khamenei's closest bodyguards, stands beside the former supreme leader.
An underground complex built by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to protect former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei included a blast-resistant room and escape tunnels beneath central Tehran, according to information received by Iran International.
Iran International obtained architectural plans for the facility from an informed source, and a security source confirmed the documents’ authenticity.
The plans show that the IRGC spent about a decade building the underground compound, known as Habib Ebrahimi, next to Khamenei’s official residence.
The complex, named after Khamenei's former driver Habib Ebrahimi, who died before construction began, was built between 2009 and the late 2010s, according to the information.
Underground network
According to the plans, the main vehicle entrance allowed cars to descend about 30 meters underground into the complex.
Architectural plans obtained by Iran International show the layout of the IRGC-built underground bunker beneath the former supreme leader's compound in Tehran.
A 27-meter tunnel linked the bunker to multiple escape routes, including exits toward streets around. Another tunnel reportedly connected the facility to a parking garage near the Enghelab square in central Tehran.
Iran International reviewed construction images showing one tunnel exit during excavation, as well as separate images depicting a five-level underground office complex for senior officials attached to the Office of the Supreme Leader.
Sources familiar with the project, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the site was concealed beneath what appeared to be a sports center. Below ground, the facility included a three-level parking garage, target ranges and two shelters located approximately 30 and 35 meters beneath the surface.
Plans show one of those shelters contained a blast-resistant room intended to protect Khamenei during missile attacks.
Construction and oversight
The documents showed construction began in 2009 with Khamenei's approval and was financed by the IRGC's Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters.
The project was overseen by the IRGC's engineering division, then headed by Brigadier General Ali Masjedian, while execution was assigned to the Shahid Rajaei Institute, a subsidiary of Khatam al-Anbiya.
The institute was headed by Brigadier General Hossein Akbari. His brother, Brigadier General Hassan Akbari, supervised construction while serving both as one of Khamenei's closest bodyguards and as an official in the IRGC unit responsible for protecting the Supreme Leader.
Brigadier General Hossein Akbari, the former head of the IRGC's Shahid Rajaei Institute, which oversaw construction of the underground bunker complex for Ali Khamenei.
The IRGC-linked Fars News Agency previously reported that Hassan Akbari was accidentally killed on April 29, 2016, after a weapon malfunction during a training mission.
A security source, however, told Iran International that his death was tied to an internal power struggle inside the Office of the Supreme Leader.
Contradictory public statements
The Habib Ebrahimi complex was among the Israeli military’s targets during a March 2026 strike on the Supreme Leader’s compound.
Satellite imagery reviewed by Iran International, however, did not show clear evidence that the underground facility had been destroyed.
Satellite image highlighting the underground bunker complex beneath the former supreme leader's compound in central Tehran.
The discovery contrasts with public remarks by former Iranian officials. Former Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi had said Khamenei had no underground shelter, while Ezzatollah Zarghami, a former broadcasting chief and tourism minister, said Khamenei had opposed building one for himself.
Khamenei was killed in a targeted Israeli strike on his residence on February 28, 2026, during a meeting of Iran's Defense Council. The Financial Times later reported that Israel had used hacked traffic cameras and telecommunications infrastructure around the area to identify the gathering before the attack.
