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Iran planned ahead to ensure nuclear programme wasn't interrupted, says top nuclear official
A satellite image shows the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran in this handout image dated January 24, 2025. Maxar Technologies via Reuters
Days after Israel and the US targeted several nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, Iran's top nuclear official on Tuesday said that the country had made advance preparations to prevent any interruption to its nuclear activities.
According to a CNN report, Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said Iran had 'planned ahead of time' to ensure 'no interruption to our nuclear programme and industry.'
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'We have taken the necessary measures and are taking stock of the damage' caused by the strikes," AFP quoted Eslami as saying in a statement aired on state television.
'Plans for restarting (the facilities) have been prepared in advance, and our strategy is to ensure that production and services are not disrupted,' he added.
The remarks come as speculation mounts that Tehran may have preemptively relocated sensitive nuclear equipment and enriched uranium from key facilities — including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan — before the attacks took place.
Earlier in the conflict, AEOI spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi confirmed that equipment at both the Fordow and Isfahan sites had been moved in anticipation of potential Israeli airstrikes.
The United States launched airstrikes on Iran's Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz uranium enrichment facilities on Sunday, in a major escalation of regional tensions.
US President Donald Trump hailed the operation as a 'spectacular military success,' though the full extent of the damage to the targeted sites remains unclear.
In response, a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Islamic Republic still possesses enriched uranium stockpiles, warning that 'the game is not over.'
On Monday, Israel confirmed it had carried out a second strike on the heavily fortified Fordow facility, located beneath a mountain south of Tehran, claiming the operation was aimed at 'obstructing access routes' to the site.
With inputs from agencies
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