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Leaders
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Leaders
What We Know About the Iranian Nuclear Facilities Targeted in US Strikes
US has launched airstrikes on three key Iranian nuclear facilities, employing stealth bombers and bunker-busting munitions in an operation aimed at supporting Israel's ongoing military campaign against Iran. The strikes, which began on 13 June, were designed to cripple Tehran's uranium enrichment capabilities and hinder its nuclear ambitions. The Targets: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan The US strikes focused on three of the most critical and advanced sites in Iran's nuclear program: the Fordow enrichment plant, the Natanz nuclear facility, and the Isfahan nuclear complex. Each of these locations plays a pivotal role in Iran's production and development of nuclear fuel. Fordow Facility Located approximately 30 kilometers northeast of the city of Qom, the Fordow site is entirely built into a mountain at an altitude of 1,750 meters, shielded by dense rock and volcanic layers—making it one of Iran's most fortified nuclear sites. The underground facility houses two halls and has the capacity to accommodate around 3,000 IR-1 centrifuges. It is primarily used to enrich uranium up to 60% purity—just below the weapons-grade threshold. Fordow has long been seen as a primary military target due to both its technical capabilities and hardened location. Natanz Reactor Situated near the central Iranian city of Kashan, the Natanz site is protected by a 22-meter-thick combination of earthen and concrete cover and surrounded by mountainous terrain. It includes both main and pilot enrichment plants and hosts over 14,000 centrifuges of various generations (IR-1, IR-2m, IR-4, and IR-6). Natanz serves as Iran's main industrial enrichment center, responsible for producing the majority of the country's low-enriched uranium. It is also central to the research and development of advanced centrifuge technology. Isfahan Nuclear Complex Located on a barren plateau south of Isfahan city, far from major population centers, the complex is not hardened or underground. It contains the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF), a fuel fabrication plant, and three research reactors. Strategically vital, the Isfahan complex supports both the Natanz and Fordow facilities by supplying essential nuclear materials. It lies at the heart of Iran's nuclear research and manufacturing infrastructure. Statements from Washington and Tehran Earlier today, former U.S. President Donald Trump hailed the airstrikes as a major success, claiming they had 'wiped out' Iran's principal nuclear sites. 'Fordow is gone,' Trump declared, adding that the main enrichment installations had been 'completely and utterly destroyed.' He urged Iran to 'choose peace now.' In contrast, Iranian media outlet Tasnim quoted an unnamed Iranian official who downplayed the impact, stating the nuclear sites had been evacuated in advance and had not sustained irreparable damage. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran also assured the public there was 'no risk of radiation leakage' as a result of the strikes. The US operation marks a dramatic escalation in the conflict, with significant implications for regional stability and the future of Iran's nuclear program. Related topics: US Strikes Iran: Fordo Nuclear Site 'Gone' in Conflict Escalation No Radiation Detected in Saudi Arabia, GCC after US Strikes on Iran: NRRC Tehran Vows Retaliation to US Strikes as Iranian Missiles Hit Israel Short link : Post Views: 8
NDTV
17-06-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Why Israel Can't Destroy Iran's Fordow Nuclear Site
Over the last few days, Israel has targeted multiple nuclear facilities in Iran but at least one major site remains: the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, a heavily shielded base buried deep beneath a mountain. Built to withstand airstrikes, experts now say that only the United States has the firepower to destroy it. While Israel has previously stunned Western intelligence with its covert operations and military reach, experts cited by The NY Post say there is no evidence it has weapons strong enough to breach Fordow's defences. What Is Iran's Fordow? The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant is one of Iran's most secretive and heavily protected nuclear facilities. Hidden beneath a mountain near the village of Fordow, over 30 km from Qom and 160 km from Tehran, the site was designed to resist airstrikes and foreign interference. The location was originally part of a missile base controlled by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Construction Of The Fordow Plant Iran began constructing Fordow in the early 2000s under the clandestine "Amad Plan," which aimed to develop nuclear weapons. For years, its existence was hidden from global watchdogs. In 2009, Western intelligence agencies exposed the plant, which then led Iran to officially disclose it to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). At the time, the revelation raised serious global concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions. Why Is Fordow So Hard To Hit? What makes Fordow so formidable is its depth. It lies between 80 and 300 feet underground. This puts it far beyond the reach of conventional bombs and even advanced Israeli munitions. The facility was originally built to hold about 3,000 IR-1 centrifuges, arranged in two separate sections. The base is now protected by surface-to-air missiles, including Russia's S-300 system, and has been reinforced to survive sustained bombardment. "Tehran has made sure the facility can survive airstrike attacks, making Fordow a much harder target than the other facilities that have been hit through the years," said Nicholas Carl, a research manager at the American Enterprise Institute's Critical Threats Project, as per The NY Post. Fordow's Role In Iran's Nuclear Programme Under the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA), Fordow was to be repurposed for peaceful scientific use, like isotope production and enrichment activity was halted. After the US withdrew from the agreement in 2018, Iran resumed enrichment at Fordow. As of 2025, roughly 2,000 centrifuges, including advanced IR-6 models, are operational at the site, enriching uranium up to 60 per cent purity, dangerously close to the 90 per cent threshold required for a nuclear weapon. Fordow is now seen as Iran's last and most critical enrichment stronghold. According to experts, it produces an estimated 166 kg of 60 per cent enriched uranium every three months, enough, if further enriched, to potentially make up to four nuclear bombs. Despite repeated attacks on other Iranian nuclear sites, Fordow has remained untouched. What Israel Said Israeli officials consider the destruction of Fordow vital to stopping Iran's nuclear ambitions. "The entire operation... really has to be completed with the elimination of Fordow," Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter said recently, as per Axios. Only the US is believed to have the weapons capable of taking it out. The GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a 15-ton "bunker buster," is likely the only bomb with the power to reach Fordow's core. Israel, so far, does not appear to possess such capabilities. "Israel can damage key Iranian nuclear facilities, but Israel can't destroy hardened sites like Fordow without US military assistance," said Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association, as per The Washington Post.
Shafaq News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Iran unleashes major nuclear expansion in response to IAEA resolution
Shafaq News/ Iran has announced an expansion of its nuclear activities in response to a recent resolution adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which accuses Tehran of failing to meet its non-proliferation obligations. Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), revealed on Thursday that new technical measures have been ordered, including the activation of a third uranium enrichment facility and a sweeping upgrade of the country's centrifuge infrastructure. "We will replace our first-generation centrifuges with sixth-generation machines," Kamalvandi said, noting that enrichment capacity will increase markedly in both volume and efficiency. The decision follows instructions from AEOI chief Mohammad Eslami to establish a new enrichment complex at what was described as 'a secure location.' At the same time, aging IR-1 centrifuges at the Fordow underground nuclear site will be replaced with advanced IR-6 models. 'These steps are part of Iran's calibrated response,' Kamalvandi said, stressing that more measures are under consideration and will be announced in due course. The announcement came just hours after the IAEA's 35-member Board of Governors passed a resolution—reportedly spearheaded by the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom—accusing Iran of failing to cooperate with the agency and breaching its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Kamalvandi criticized the resolution as a strategic misstep by Western powers. 'They wrongly believe political pressure can force Iran to retreat from its rightful positions,' he said. 'We had already warned that we would adjust our actions accordingly.' While Iran maintains that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and continues to operate under international monitoring, it has repeatedly rejected what it describes as politicized pressure from Western governments. Tehran insists that all of its nuclear activities remain within the framework of the NPT and under the oversight of the IAEA's technical protocols.
San Francisco Chronicle
12-06-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
UN nuclear watchdog's board of governors finds Iran isn't complying with its nuclear obligations
VIENNA (AP) — The U.N. nuclear watchdog's board of governors on Thursday formally found that Iran isn't complying with its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years, a move that could lead to further tensions and set in motion an effort to restore United Nations sanctions on Tehran later this year. Iran reacted immediately, saying it will establish a new enrichment facility after the vote against it. The announcement said the facility will be 'in a secure location' and that 'other measures are also being planned.' 'The Islamic Republic of Iran has no choice but to respond to this political resolution,' the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said in a joint statement announcing the decision. Nineteen countries on the International Atomic Energy Agency's board, which represents the agency's member nations, voted for the resolution, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote. Russia, China and Burkina Faso opposed it, 11 abstained and two did not vote. In the draft resolution seen by The Associated Press, the board of governors renews a call on Iran to provide answers 'without delay' in a long-running investigation into uranium traces found at several locations that Tehran has failed to declare as nuclear sites. Western officials suspect that the uranium traces could provide evidence that Iran had a secret nuclear weapons program until 2003. The resolution was put forward by France, the U.K., Germany and the United States. Iran under pressure as Trump warns of possible airstrikes It wasn't immediately clear where the 'secure location' of Iran's new facility will be. Iran has been digging tunnels in the mountain near its Natanz enrichment facility. Iran also said it would replace its older IR-1 centrifuges at its underground facility at Fordo with advanced IR-6 centrifuges, which enrich uranium much faster. 'Iran's many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019 to provide the Agency with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations in Iran ... constitutes non-compliance with its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement,' the draft resolution says. Under the so-called safeguards obligations, which are part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran is legally bound to declare all nuclear material and activities and allow IAEA inspectors to verify that none of it is being diverted from peaceful uses. The draft resolution also finds that the IAEA's 'inability ... to provide assurance that Iran's nuclear program is exclusively peaceful gives rise to questions that are within the competence of the United Nations Security Council, as the organ bearing the main responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.' The vote comes at a sensitive time as tensions in the region have been rising, with the U.S. State Department announcing on Wednesday that it is drawing down the presence of people who are not deemed essential to operations in the Middle East. U.S. President Donald Trump has previously said that Israel or the U.S. could carry out airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations failed. The U.S. and Iran have been holding talks on Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program. Oman's foreign minister said earlier Thursday that a sixth round of negotiations will be held in his country on Sunday. The draft resolution makes a direct reference to the U.S.-Iran talks, stressing its 'support for a diplomatic solution to the problems posed by the Iranian nuclear program, including the talks between the United States and Iran, leading to an agreement that addresses all international concerns related to Iran's nuclear activities, encouraging all parties to constructively engage in diplomacy.' Still a chance for Iran to cooperate with IAEA A senior Western diplomat last week described the resolution as a 'serious step,' but added that Western nations are 'not closing the door to diplomacy on this issue.' However, if Iran fails to cooperate, an extraordinary IAEA board meeting will likely be held in the summer, during which another resolution could get passed that will refer the issue to the Security Council, the diplomat said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the issue with the media. The three European nations have repeatedly threatened in the past to reinstate sanctions that have been lifted under the original 2015 Iran nuclear deal if Iran does not provide 'technically credible' answers to the U.N. nuclear watchdog's questions. The authority to reestablish those sanctions by the complaint of any member of the original 2015 nuclear deal expires in October, putting the West on a clock to exert pressure on Tehran over its program before losing that power. The resolution comes on heels of the IAEA's so-called 'comprehensive report' that was circulated among member states last weekend. In the report, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said that Iran's cooperation with the agency has 'been less than satisfactory' when it comes to uranium traces discovered by agency inspectors at several locations in Iran.
Memri
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Memri
Former Iranian Nuclear Chief Ali-Akbar Salehi on Iran's Growing Domestic Nuclear Capabilities: Iran Now Produces IR-9 Centrifuges, Expanding Nuclear Facilities Nationwide; Needs 100 Tons of Uranium fo
In a June 4, 2025 interview on IRINN TV (Iran), former Iranian nuclear chief Ali-Akbar Salehi discussed the progress of Iran's nuclear program amid ongoing challenges with international cooperation. He said that while China initially helped Iran begin uranium mining, around 30 years ago Iran also launched a project with China at the Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF), but the Chinese abandoned it halfway through. According to Salehi, the chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority claimed that the United States pressured China to exit Iran's nuclear program after the JCPOA was signed, but Iran ultimately completed the project on its own. Salehi went on to describe Iran's turbulent nuclear cooperation with Russia, noting that Russia is currently building two new power plants in Bushehr. He explained that while Iran uses imported fuel for foreign-made reactors, it still requires domestically manufactured fuel - which in turn requires 100 tons of natural uranium - for its domestically built reactors. Emphasizing Iran's growing domestic capabilities, Salehi stated that the country is now producing its own centrifuges and has reached the IR-9 model, which is 50 times more powerful than the IR-1. He also discussed ongoing plans to expand nuclear facilities across the country.
