CNN
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The United States has hit three important nuclear sites in Iran, President Donald Trump said on True Social on Saturday evening as the Iran-Israel conflict entered its second week.
The Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz sites are at the heart of Iran’s nuclear ambitions and were previously targeted by Israeli strikes. This is what we know about them.
The nuclear complex, approximately 250 kilometers (150 miles) south of the capital Tehran, is considered Iran’s largest uranium enrichment facility.
Analysts say it will be used to develop and assemble uranium enriched centrifuges, a key technology that converts uranium into nuclear fuel.
Natanz has six buildings above ground and three underground structures, two of which can hold 50,000 centrifuges, according to the non-profit Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI).
The site targets Israel’s first attack on Iran, with satellite photography and analysis showing that the strike has destroyed the ground portion of Natantz’s pilot fuel enrichment plant.
It is a vast site that has been operating since 2003, and according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran had enriched purity by up to 60%. Weapon grade uranium is concentrated to 90%.
The previous strike also knocked out electricity at a low level where the centrifuge was stored, two U.S. officials told CNN at the time. Since many of the facilities are underground, sweeping out the power to these parts is the most effective way to affect underground equipment and machines.
Much remains to be seen about the full size and nature of this secret, heavily equipped facility, located near the sacred city and buried deep in a group of mountains. A significant portion of what we know comes from a flock of Iranian documents stolen by Israeli intelligence agency several years ago.
The main hall is estimated to be 80-90 meters (approximately 262-295 feet) below the ground, making it extremely difficult to destroy the facility from the air. Israeli officials and the Independence Report said earlier, the United States is the only country that has the bombs needed for its deep attack. But analysts warn that even these bombs may not be enough.
“Iran is able to convert current stock of enriched uranium into 233 kg weapon-grade uranium in three weeks at the Fordaw fuel enriched plant,” says nine nuclear weapons, according to the Nonpartisan Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS).
A recent IAEA report suggests that Iran has increased its production of enriched uranium to 60% levels in Fordow. According to experts and the IAEA, the facility includes 2,700 centrifuges.
Isfahan is located in central Iran and is home to the country’s largest nuclear research complex.
According to NTI, the facility was built with support from China and opened in 1984. According to the NTI, 3,000 scientists are employed in Isfahan, and the site says it is “suspected as a centre” of Iran’s nuclear program.
NTI says it “operates conversion facilities and fuel production plants,” as well as “three research reactors supplied by China” and “conversion facilities, fuel production plants, zirconium cladding plants and other facilities and laboratories.”