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The Hindu
14 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
What is next for Iran's nuclear programme?
After its recent airstrikes against Iran's facilities in Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan, the U.S. has been claiming it has set back the Islamic Republic's nuclear weapons ambitions by decades and nullified the country's ability to make a nuclear weapon of mass destruction (WMD). The question of whether Iran actually has nuclear weapons is important because of the U.S.'s history of attempts to force regime changes in foreign countries on the pretext of threats they pose, including with WMDs. Iran currently doesn't have a nuclear weapon — but that may not be the only important question. Doubts remain in the global arms control community over whether US bombs — including the 'bunker buster' massive ordinance penetrators (MOPs) designed to destroy subsurface structures — were able to damage subterranean enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordo and Iran's stockpile of 60% enriched uranium. The latter is of particular interest. Its existence, which the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimated amounted to 400 kg in May, allows Iran to enrich it further to weapons-grade uranium in a matter of days, reducing the 'breakout' time within which it can be ready with a nuclear warhead. Using high-resolution satellite data provided by private operators like Maxar, experts have spotted trucks moving in and out of the Fordo facility in the days leading up to the bombing. They have interpreted this to mean Tehran may have anticipated the bombs, including the use of MOPs, and moved fissile material and equipment away to safer locales. Indeed, Financial Times reported on June 26 that 'preliminary intelligence assessments' shared with European governments suggest Iran's 60% enriched stockpile survived the US strikes 'largely intact' and that it wasn't 'concentrated' in Fordo when the bombs fell. In posts on Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California, among others also discussed satellite images showing signs of special tunnels where Iran may have moved its enriched stockpile for safekeeping. Thus, questions linger about the extent to which the American and Israeli bombing set Iran's nuclear weapons programme back. While estimates of the damage wrought by American bombs vary, that the Iranian nuclear programme was set back at all isn't in dispute. But as Carnegie Nuclear Policy Program co-director James Acton has contended, this is separate from the question of whether Iran can build a nuclear weapon now. It can if it has access to the 60% enriched stockpile, other enrichment facilities the world doesn't know about (the IAEA has deemed this likely), and/or the ability to operationalise new enrichment centres. If the 60% enriched stockpile persists, the nuclear option also persists. In fact Israel's actions and statements in the last month and US involvement in its war are expected to galvanise local support for the nuclear weapons programme and strengthen Tehran's resolve. With regards to the risk of proliferation as well as what former Indian Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev has called the 'geopolitical entropy' slowly unfolding in West Asia, an equal question is whether Iran has the intention to develop nuclear weapons. As things stand, Iran has amassed both the technical knowhow and the materials required to make a nuclear weapon. Second, the Israelis and the Americans have failed to deprive Iran of these resources in their latest salvo. In fact the airstrikes against Iran from June 13 cast Tehran as the victim of foreign aggression and increased the premium on its option to withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) without significant international censure. Iran's parliament has also passed a resolution to suspend its cooperation with the IAEA after having accused the agency of leaking sensitive information to facilitate Israel's targeted strikes. The international community is already wary of the possibility of a proliferation cascade in the region. It is an openly acknowledged fact that Israel possesses nuclear weapons. It isn't party to the NPT either. Saudi Arabia has said it will pursue a weapon of its own if Iran has one, as might Turkey. Former US State Department members Mark Goodman and Mark Fitzpatrick have written that this situation is reminiscent of that in the Korean Peninsula, where North Korea's withdrawal from the NPT in 2003 forced South Korea and Japan to reconsider their own options. In the right conditions, highly enriched uranium (HEU) can retain its quality for several decades. Modern equipment stores uranium in inert cladding and sealed containers devoid of any moisture, with periodic surveillance and maintenance to keep the cores within their original specifications. Even the decay heat of HEU is only around 1 mW/kg, entailing virtually no thermal or radiation damage to the surrounding components. While Tehran's refusal to cooperate with the IAEA is suggestive, it hasn't explicitly articulated that it will pursue nuclear weapons. In fact, since the 1960s until the US unilaterally pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, Tehran has maintained its right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy alone. But the presence of large quantities of HEU in the stockpile is intriguing. From a purely technical standpoint, the HEU can still be diverted for non-military applications. For example it can be used in a pilot enrichment cascade to study and develop nuclear reactors for naval use. At 60% enrichment, the same fissile inventory will also fit in a third of the total mass, requiring fewer cylinders to store and transport. But these are niche use-cases. Energy- and cost-wise, enriching uranium to 60% and then down-blending it to low-enriched uranium (LEU) required to run nuclear power plants is irrational. A 60% stockpile can be blended on demand to 19.75%, 5% or 3% uranium without spinning centrifuges — but it can also be achieved by blending 20% uranium with natural or depleted feed, so there is no real advantage. Likewise, down-conversion and routine safeguards can handle large volumes easily, precluding a need to reduce the number of containers. If anything, the HEU stockpile, the technical knowhow in the country, the absence of a nuclear warhead per se, and the sympathy created by the bombing allow Tehran a perfect bargaining chip: to simultaneously be in a state of pre-breakout readiness while being able to claim in earnest that it is interested in nuclear energy for peace. What this Schrodinger's cat will look like when the box is opened is perhaps the next question.
Business Wire
21 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Maxar Awarded Contract by NGA to Deliver AI-Powered Object Detection Services
WESTMINSTER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Maxar Intelligence, the leading provider of secure, precise geospatial insights, announced today that it was awarded Delivery Order 01 under the Luno A program by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). This award is focused on delivering commercial analytic services, specifically automated AI/ML-generated object detections over many specified locations at once. Maxar is primarily identifying various classes of aircraft, ships, ground vehicles and railcars, helping NGA determine object counts at specified locations, classification of objects, identify trends and anomalies, and perform spatial and temporal geospatial intelligence analysis. The mission represents a strong example of operationalizing commercial technologies for persistent site monitoring at global scale. Maxar has partnered on this award with satellite Earth observation data provider, Satellogic, Inc. (NASDAQ: SATL), integrating the capacity and revisit of both constellations to deliver a combination of persistent monitoring and high-resolution imaging for the most demanding multi-sensor applications; Enabled Intelligence to aid with model validation and verification; and Striveworks for the AIOps platform. Delivery Order 01 requires excellent performance against extremely tight delivery timelines, including the ability to collect multiple images across constellations within specified windows and delivering model outputs within hours of image acquisition. Automation is the key to success for all phases that include collection, computer vision model inference, and delivery of timely results. 'This award reflects the power of combining commercial innovation to support national security mission needs,' said Susanne Hake, SVP and General Manager of Maxar's U.S. Government business. 'By working together with other industry leaders, we're enabling a powerful combination of diverse sensor data and advanced analytics to help make smarter, faster decisions.' For more information about Maxar's analytical offerings, visit About Maxar Intelligence Maxar Intelligence is a leading provider of secure, precise geospatial insights. Operating the most advanced commercial Earth observation constellation on orbit, we use the power of very high-resolution satellite imagery and software technology to deliver mission success on Earth and in space. Our secure, AI-powered products and services deliver ground truth in near real-time to keep nations safe, improve navigation, protect our planet, speed up disaster response and more. For more information, visit
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Visualizing Iran's 'Missing' Uranium: What We Know
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. In the days before U.S. airstrikes hit Iran's Fordow and Isfahan nuclear sites, satellite images captured convoys of cargo trucks leaving the facilities. Nuclear experts now believe Iran relocated more than 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium—enough for 10 nuclear weapons—to a secret location, a move that has left U.S. and international inspectors unable to verify the material's whereabouts. A classified U.S. intelligence report reviewed after the strikes found Iran's nuclear program was set back only by several months, contradicting President Donald Trump's assertion that the program had been "completely and totally obliterated." Israeli intelligence reports have also contradicted the initial U.S. assessment, estimating more "significant" damage has been done by the bombing. The centrifuges at Fordo, the main enrichment facility buried deep inside a mountain that was targeted last weekend, are "no longer operational," according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Who Confirms the Uranium Is Missing—and Who Denies It? Rafael Grossi, director general of the IAEA, confirmed his team last verified Iran's uranium stockpile on June 13. Since then, he said, "We do not have information of the whereabouts of this material," in an interview with Fox News. Grossi added on CNN: "Iran has made no secret that they have protected this material." Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi at the Chancellery in Vienna on June 25, 2025. Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi at the Chancellery in Vienna on June 25, President JD Vance acknowledged the uncertainty, telling ABC News: "We're going to work in the coming weeks to ensure that we do something with that fuel." Vance did not confirm whether the United States knows where it is now. The 60 percent enriched uranium—technically just short of weapons-grade—would be enough to produce multiple nuclear warheads if further refined. As of May, the IAEA reported Iran possessed 408.6 kilograms of the material. What Do Satellite Images Reveal About Iran's Nuclear Movements? Maxar Technologies confirmed it captured satellite images on June 19 and 20 showing at least 16 cargo trucks positioned outside the Fordo Fuel Enrichment Facility. The images, taken just days before the U.S. launched "Operation Midnight Hammer," revealed what defense analysts described as a likely "frantic effort" to remove sensitive nuclear material or equipment. Satellite imagery captured by Maxar on June 19 showing cargo trucks close to the underground entrance of the Fordow fuel enrichment facility, prior to U.S. airstrikes on the underground complex. Satellite imagery captured by Maxar on June 19 showing cargo trucks close to the underground entrance of the Fordow fuel enrichment facility, prior to U.S. airstrikes on the underground complex. MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES According to The New York Times, two Israeli officials said Iran likely removed 400 kilograms of 60 percent enriched uranium in the days leading up to the U.S. attacks. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that "almost all" of Iran's highly enriched uranium had been transferred to a secret location. What Is the Pentagon Saying? In a Pentagon briefing Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine defended the strike operation and attempted to shift focus away from whether Iran's uranium had been moved. Hegseth labeled the strikes "an historically successful attack," and challenged critics for "breathlessly" focusing on early intelligence assessments suggesting only partial destruction. "You want to call it destroyed, you want to call it defeated, you want to call it obliterated — choose your word," Hegseth told reporters. "This was an historically successful attack." U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (L), accompanied by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine (R), speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 26, 2025 in Arlington,... U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (L), accompanied by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine (R), speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 26, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. MoreGeneral Caine said the operation resulted from 15 years of classified research to defeat Iran's underground enrichment complex. "We were quietly and in a secret way the biggest users of supercomputer hours within the United States," he said, referring to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's simulations. Asked directly if uranium was moved, Hegseth responded, "I'm not aware of any intelligence that says things were not where they were supposed to be." Still, the Defense Intelligence Agency's early assessment—leaked prior to the briefing—found the strikes had caused "significant" damage but stopped short of declaring Iran's nuclear program destroyed. According to the Associated Press, DIA officials expressed "low confidence" in determining whether all nuclear materials had remained in place. Where Could 400,000 Kilograms of Uranium Have Gone? To move 400,000 kilograms—roughly 880,000 pounds—of enriched uranium hexafluoride (UF₆), Iran would need around 261 specialized 30B Type B(U) transport cylinders. Each of these cylinders is approximately 4 to 4.3 feet tall and 3 to 3.9 feet in diameter, weighing close to 6,070 pounds (2,755 lbs gross weight, including container) when filled. Each cylinder can contain about 3,380 pounds of uranium alone. This mock-up shows how a single 30B uranium hexafluoride (UF₆) transport cylinder fits horizontally in the bed of a Ford F-150 pickup truck. Illustration created using ChatGPT and reference 3D modeling tools. This mock-up shows how a single 30B uranium hexafluoride (UF₆) transport cylinder fits horizontally in the bed of a Ford F-150 pickup truck. Illustration created using ChatGPT and reference 3D modeling tools. AI-GENERATED IMAGE These cylinders are designed to lie flat during transport, typically cradled in reinforced metal racks on military or industrial-grade flatbeds. For comparison, a Ford F-150 pickup truck—one of the most common work vehicles in the U.S.—has a maximum payload of roughly 3,300 pounds. This means it could carry only one barrel at a time due to weight restrictions, despite having the physical space to fit more. Loading all 261 barrels would require more than 260 trips by such trucks or a convoy of large-scale, purpose-built haulers. An AI-generated aerial image shows a convoy of 261 Ford F-150 trucks, each carrying a 30B UF₆ cylinder marked with radioactive symbols, traveling through a remote mountain highway—illustrating the scale of transporting 400,000 kg of... An AI-generated aerial image shows a convoy of 261 Ford F-150 trucks, each carrying a 30B UF₆ cylinder marked with radioactive symbols, traveling through a remote mountain highway—illustrating the scale of transporting 400,000 kg of uranium. More AI-GENERATED IMAGE Why Can't Inspectors Verify the Stockpile Anymore? The IAEA has not resumed inspections since the June 22 strikes, with Iran suspending international access amid ongoing military tensions. "Continued military escalation delays this indispensable work," Grossi warned the UN Security Council, urging diplomatic re-engagement. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Takht Ravanchi dismissed speculation that Tehran would scale back its nuclear ambitions. "No one can tell us what we should and should not do," he said in remarks reported by Iranian media. Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was more blunt: "Even assuming the complete destruction of the sites, the game is not over, because enriched materials, indigenous knowledge, and political will remain intact," he told The Telegraph.
India Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
Iran admits US strikes badly damaged N-sites days after saying no contamination
Days after Iran said there were no signs of radioactive contamination following the US's strikes on its nuclear installations, Tehran on Wednesday admitted that its nuclear sites were "badly damaged" and demanded compensation from June 21, the US joined Israel in its attacks on Iran during the 12-day conflict and bombed the Islamic Republic's key nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghei said the US strikes on his country's nuclear installations caused significant damage. "Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that's for sure," Baghaei was quoted by Al Jazeera as saying. Iran's Natanz nuclear facility damaged following US strikes. (Photo: Maxar) In an interview with a Lebanese news agency, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh demanded compensation from the US for the damages caused to Iran's nuclear facilities and threatened to file a complaint with the UN."Washington must pay compensation for the damages caused to Iran's facilities or else Tehran will file a complaint with the United Nations on this matter," he images released by US-based Maxar Technologies showed noticeable damage to Iran's nuclear facilities in Natanz and Isfahan. Iran's Isfahan nuclear facility damaged in US strikes. (Photo: Maxar) Another satellite image showed Tehran's Mehrabad airport following Israeli strikes. Tehran's Mehrabad airport damaged following Israeli attacks. (Photo: Maxar) Khatibzadeh said, "We had no written agreement with the Zionist regime (Israel) that included any binding clauses. What happened was simply the halt of aggression by the Israelis."TRUMP SAYS CEASEFIRE ACHIEVED AMID TENSIONSOn Tuesday, US President Donald Trump claimed he brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran and urged the long-time rivals not to violate the agreement. However, hours later, Israel fired missiles on Iran, which then ordered retaliatory strikes.A frustrated Trump then said that Israel and Iran had violated the ceasefire but insisted that the truce was on. He also said that he urged Israel not to bomb Iran again and that all Israeli planes were returning asserted that Israel "unloaded" right after agreeing to the deal. He also said he was not happy with either country, especially Israel."I am going to see if I can stop it (the fighting). I have to get Israel to calm down. We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f*** they're doing," he surprise declaration of ceasefire by Trump came just 48 hours after he ordered strikes on Iran's underground nuclear response, Iran retaliated by launching missiles towards the Al Udeid air base, a US military base in Qatar, as part of a campaign against what Tehran called "blatant military aggression" by Washington. Rockets were also fired at the Ain Al Asad base housing US troops in marked a major escalation in the Israel-Iran conflict, leading to the shutting of airspaces by the Gulf countries and affecting the movement of international flights. It also came as the Middle East remained under strife in 20 months following Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza and its conflict with Hezbollah in June 12, Israel launched aerial attacks on Iran under Operation Rising Lion, asserting that Tehran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. Iran, which has insisted that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, fired a volley of missiles and drones, causing massive infrastructural damage and civilian casualties on both sides.- EndsTune InMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Iran#Israel#Middle East#Donald Trump#United States of America
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Media Advisory - Energy Sector Gains New Edge in Vegetation and Methane Emissions Monitoring with Maxar and Satelytics Partnership
PERRYSBURG, Ohio, June 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Maxar and its partner Satelytics are announcing today an expansion of their offerings to the energy industry. In addition to the methane monitoring solution that has been on the market for several years, Satelytics is now introducing a vegetation encroachment solution that leverages Maxar's very high-resolution satellite imagery. Monitoring vegetation growth along utility lines and pipelines Caption: Satelytics' vegetation monitoring product leverages Maxar's very high-resolution satellite imagery to identify vegetation, like the coniferous tree in the above screenshot, that could possibly fall on electrical distribution networks. This alert enables a utility company to go into the field and mitigate specific vegetation issues instead of spending time monitoring the whole transmission line from a truck. Satelytics will generate risk profiles of vegetation in and around customer assets using mono- and stereo-imagery collections from the Maxar constellation, including the recently launched WorldView Legion satellites. This solution will lean on Maxar's collection capability of 6 million sq km of capacity per day, which significantly outpaces any other commercial provider. Monitoring vegetation growth along utility lines or pipelines with Maxar's 30 cm-class resolution satellite imagery and Satelytics' value-added insights allows an energy company to prioritize sending ground crews to specific locations that are known to need trimming maintenance instead of having ground crews drive the entire lengths of lines, which can be hundreds of miles in distance. This targeted vegetation maintenance allows the energy company to reduce search time and increase efficiency of field crews, proactively identify and address potential threats outside the immediate corridor, verify completed work and optimize contractor management, and improve overall grid reliability by reducing vegetation-related outages. 'Maxar's recently expanded capacity with the new WorldView Legion satellites creates new opportunities for us to reliably collect fresh, very high-resolution satellite imagery along our customers' rights-of-way to analyze for vegetation encroachment. Our customers will benefit from the high-quality of Maxar's imagery as value-added products like our vegetation risk assessments improve with better input data.' — Sean Donegan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Satelytics Producing methane detection alerts Maxar's WorldView-3 satellite hosts a shortwave infrared (SWIR) sensor that collects imagery in wavelengths outside what the human eye can see. Satelytics uses this SWIR sensor to create a methane detection and measurement product for energy companies. Duke Energy's Piedmont Gas division, a local distribution company that operates in the Midwest and Southeast U.S., uses Satelytics' methane solution to improve operational efficiency, safety and reporting by quickly finding leaks, repairing them and reducing emissions across a five-state service territory. Since the beginning of 2022, Duke Energy has reduced recordable leaks by over 85% using Satelytics' solution. To learn more about Satelytics' methane detection and quantification alerts, read their blog post. 'Satelytics has been innovating with Maxar's very high-resolution satellite imagery for nearly a decade, and we're excited to see them expand their offerings to include vegetation management for utilities. The quality, currency and accuracy of our data enables use cases that require precision to make informed decisions and Satelytics is taking it a step further with their energy industry-focused products.' — Todd Surdey, SVP and GM of Enterprise at Maxar Geospatial insights for informed monitoring and mitigationThe combined power of Maxar's high revisit, very high-resolution satellite imagery and Satelytics' AI-driven algorithms provides energy companies with early detection geospatial insights and alerts that enable informed decision-making and minimize environmental risks. About SatelyticsSatelytics is a software company producing geospatial analytics for early detection, location and — in many instances — quantification of our customers' most pressing challenges. The Ohio-based company uses science, software, and technology to deliver valuable services to customers to identify problems before they become disasters – environmentally, financially, or otherwise. About Maxar IntelligenceMaxar Intelligence is a leading provider of secure, precise geospatial insights. Operating the most advanced commercial Earth observation constellation in orbit, we use the power of very high-resolution satellite imagery and software technology to deliver mission success on Earth and in space. Our secure, AI-powered products and services deliver ground truth in near real-time to keep nations safe, improve navigation, protect our planet, speed up disaster response and more. For more information, visit Media Contact: Michele NachumFirecracker PRmichele@ Photos accompanying this announcement are available at in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
