[en] The relation between the hyperfine interaction (HFI) and the lattice location of heavy impurities in iron is discussed in the light of results (see companion papers) on ¹⁶⁹Yb, ¹⁷⁵Yb and Au in Fe. A compilation of all known results in Fe and Cu reveals a simple correlation between the difference in atomic radii of implanted and host atoms and the corrected extinction ratio in lattice location experiments. A simple model is developed to account simultaneously for the annealing -and implantation- temperature dependence of the impurity HFI and lattice location in Fe between room temperature and 800K. It is based on existing information concerning the nature and evolution of radiation damage in Fe: impurity evolution is described in terms of a two-stage process involving (i) vacancy migration towards the impurity and (ii) migration of the impurity-vacancy complex, with the latter stage being much faster than the former. Quantitative agreement is found with our experimental results, as well as with results obtained on other impurities in Fe. It is suggested that the model is applicable in all cases where vacancy motion determines impurity evolution