Misha, would you be able to comment?
Thanks.
Sorry for this somewhat belated reply. I've been really busy...
First off, this piece of news was completely ignored in the Iranian media. I don't really follow the cock-and-bull stories of the Iranian media anymore; but still, if they had said anything about it, I definitely would have known. So far, so normal.
Secondly, the way I figure, your question is ultimately about whether Iran's nuclear program is peaceful, which is a totally different matter. [Surely, this guy wasn't carrying nuclear stuff for his personal use in, let's say, his kitchen.]
I suppose, if the higher-ups really wanted to show transparency, they could. So there's good reason to think there has been confidential activities going on. An underground nuclear site can be kept secret fairly easily. Only the last stage, the actual atomic test, will let the cat out of the basket.
Having said that, I have my doubts about the real intentions of the arrested guy. I mean, it all seems so crude to me. Shipping the stuff from Canada (Canada???) all the way to Iran? Even the original report admits that "this clearly was not a sophisticated operation".Что-то здесь не так!
Iran already has the complete nuclear fuel cycle at it's disposal, and I guess once you can produce nuclear fuel for a reactor, providing fuel for an atomic bomb is probably only a matter of time.
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I just read that some people have expressed doubts about the man's nationality. His first name is Arabic, but his surname certainly sounds Iranian.