Aerial assaults launched by Israel targeted multiple Iranian nuclear facilities. Here's a summary of the known details.
In a bold and dramatic turn of events, Israel launched bloody hell of preemptive airstrikes dubbed "Operation Rising Lion" against Iranian nuclear facilities, research scientists, and senior military commanders, early on a Friday morning.
This onslaught saw Israel dropping over 330 different munitions on more than 100 targets in Iran. Iran, bitching like a scorned lover, responded by spraying about 100 missiles towards Israel in a subsequent retaliatory attack that took place later Friday. Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system stood its ground, intercepting most of the incoming salvos, and the United States reportedly aided Israel in intercepting Iranian missiles.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin claimed that intelligence pointed towards Iran making significant strides towards achieving nuclear capability and constituting an emerging and existential threat to Israel. Meanwhile, American Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the U.S. did not take part in Israel's airstrikes against Iran.
The attacks came a day after the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors censured Iran for the first time in 20 years for not cooperating with its inspectors. In response, Iran announced its intention to establish a third enrichment site and trade out some centrifuges for more advanced ones.
The IAEA released a confidential report last month, divulging that Iran has substantially increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels and urged Tehran to promptly change course and adhere to the agency's probe.
President Trump implored Iran to "make a deal, before there's nothing left" and accept new restrictions on its nuclear program, while it still has a chance. Trump has been adamant that Iran cannot be allowed to enrich uranium, a stance Iran has been unyielding to. Steve Witkoff, the president's Middle East envoy, was scheduled to hold a sixth round of talks with Iran in the Gulf state of Oman on Sunday.
Here's a rundown of some crucial Iranian sites and their role in Tehran’s nuclear program.
Natanz Enrichment Facility
Iran’s main enrichment site, the Natanz facility, is situated approximately 135 miles southeast of Tehran on the Central Plateau. The site is partial underground to safeguard it from potential airstrikes and operates multiple cascades, or groups of centrifuges working synchronously to more rapidly enrich uranium.
In addition to its primary enrichment activities, Iran has reportedly been burrowing into the Kūh-e Kolang Gaz Lā, or Pickax Mountain, located just beyond Natanz’s southern fencing. This facility has previously been targeted by the Stuxnet computer virus, a suspected Israeli and American creation, which wreaked havoc on Iranian centrifuges. The facility has also suffered two separate sabotage attacks attributed to Israel.
Fordo Enrichment Facility
Iran’s smaller nuclear facility at Fordo is nestled about 60 miles southwest of Tehran. Constructed under a mountain and equipped with anti-aircraft batteries, Fordo appears immune to airstrikes.
In a confidential report, the IAEA revealed that Iran had started building the facility as early as 2007, although Iran only disclosed this to the United Nations nuclear watchdog in 2009 after the U.S. and allied Western intelligence agencies had become aware of its existence.
Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant
Iran’s only commercial nuclear power plant is located in Bushehr on the Persian Gulf, approximately 465 miles south of Tehran. Construction on the plant began under Iran’s Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the mid-1970s but faced repeated attacks during the Iran-Iraq war. Eventually, under Russian guidance, the facility was completed.
Iran is building two additional reactors comparable to Bushehr at the site, which is fueled by uranium produced in Russia—not Iran—and is under constant IAEA monitoring.
Arak Heavy Water Reactor
The Arak heavy water reactor, 155 miles southwest of Tehran, aids in the cooling of nuclear reactors, but produces plutonium as a byproduct, which can potentially be utilized in nuclear weapons. If Iran were to pursue this path, it would provide an alternate route to the bomb beyond enriched uranium. Iran had agreed under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers to redesign the facility to alleviate proliferation concerns, but reneged on this commitment after the U.S. withdrew from the agreement in 2018.
Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center
Featuring thousands of nuclear scientists and three Chinese research reactors, the Isfahan facility is a research hub associated with Iran’s atomic program.
Tehran Research Reactor
The headquarters of Iran’s civilian nuclear body, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, houses the Tehran Research Reactor. The United States constructed the reactor for Iran in 1967 as part of "Atoms for Peace" during the Cold War. The reactor initially required highly enriched uranium but was subsequently modified to use low-enriched uranium due to proliferation concerns.
- The attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, which included the Natanz Enrichment Facility and the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center, was part of the general-news story about technology and politics associated with war-and-conflicts.
- The United States news outlets reported that the taxes paid by American citizens contributed to the funding of the missile defense system that was instrumental in intercepting Iranian missiles during the conflict, making it a significant aspect of current news (politics) and technology.
