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India.com
5 days ago
- Politics
- India.com
Israel-Iran war: Did Israeli attacks fail to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities? IAEA statement shocks Netanyahu, says Israel did not...
(File) Israel-Iran war: In a major disclosure which raises questions about the efficacy and actual impact of Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Saturday stated that no damage was seen at Iran's Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant or the under-construction Khondab heavy water reactor. IAEA refutes Israel's claim IAEA's statement came a day after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had claimed to have destroyed the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant with missile strikes. The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant is one of Iran's most secure nuclear facilities, and the Israel's failure to damage it raises serious questions about Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's claim of crippling Tehran's nuclear program. Meanwhile, the IAEA also said that no further damage had been observed at the Natanz, another Iranian nuclear site targeted by Israel on Friday. 'As in Natanz, no increase in off-site radiation expected,' the United Nations nuclear watchdog said in a post on X. The UN agency further said that Iran's Nuclear Regulatory Authority had informed it of no change in off-site radiation levels in Isfahan, which was also struck by Israeli air strikes. It added that four critical buildings at the Isfahan nuclear site had been damaged in the Israeli attack, including a uranium conversion facility and a fuel plate fabrication plant. According to ISNA, Iran's semi-official news agency, Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesperson of Tehran's Atomic Energy Organization, said that a significant portion of key nuclear equipment and materials had already been removed from Fordow site located northeast of Qom. Why is it difficult to damage Fordow nuclear plant? The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant is a hardened, ultra-secure nuclear facilities built deep beneath a mountain, and surrounded by tall peaks on all sides. The mountainous terrain renders even the most advanced cruise missiles ineffective, and the site is protected by a large number of air defense systems concentrated in a small region, making it almost impossible for any missile or drone to go through. According to experts, Israel would need the something at the scale of the US-made Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), aka the 'Mother of All Bombs' to destroy a site like Fordow.
News18
5 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Israel Attacks Iran's Three Key Nuclear Facilities: The Extent Of Damage Explained
Last Updated: An Israeli military official said at a briefing on Saturday that strikes on Iran's nuclear sites in Natanz and Isfahan were able to damage the sites 'significantly' Israel targeted three key Iranian nuclear facilities – Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow – and a number of top scientists involved in nuclear research and development. An Israeli military official said at a briefing on Saturday that strikes on Iran's nuclear sites in Natanz and Isfahan were able to damage the sites 'significantly". Iran has maintained that damage to the facilities was limited. 'We are at a key point where if we miss it, we will have no way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons that will threaten our existence," Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Friday. The strikes destroyed the above-ground part of Natanz's Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant, a sprawling site that has been operating since 2003 and where Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Weapons-grade uranium is enriched to 90%. Electrical infrastructure at Natanz – including the main power supply building, plus emergency and back-up generators – was also destroyed, the IAEA said. As much of the Natanz facility is heavily fortified and underground, wiping out the power to those parts of the facility is the most effective way to impact underground equipment and machinery. It does not appear that Israel damaged those underground parts of the plant directly, the IAEA said, but the loss of power to the underground cascade hall 'may have damaged the centrifuges there". Natanz has six above-ground buildings and three underground buildings, two of which can hold 50,000 centrifuges, according to the non-profit Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI). Centrifuges are machines that can enrich uranium by spinning the gas at high speeds. 'The level of radioactivity outside the Natanz site has remained unchanged and at normal levels," the IAEA said. 'However, due to the impacts, there is radiological and chemical contamination inside the facilities in Natanz," it added – though the levels would be manageable. ISFAHAN Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesperson of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said Saturday that damage at the site – Iran's largest nuclear research complex – was limited. Equipment at the two facilities was moved in anticipation of the strikes, Kamalvandi said. A shed at the facility caught fire, he added, and there is no risk of contamination. But Israel were more bullish; an IDF official said during a Saturday briefing that the site took significant damage. The facility was built with support from China and opened in 1984, the NTI said. According to the non-profit, 3,000 scientists are employed at Isfahan, and the site is 'suspected of being the center" of Iran's nuclear program. It 'operates three small Chinese-supplied research reactors," as well as a 'conversion facility, a fuel production plant, a zirconium cladding plant, and other facilities and laboratories," the NTI said. At a Saturday briefing, an IDF official said Israel had 'concrete intelligence" that Iran was 'moving forward to a nuclear bomb" at the Isfahan facility. Despite advancing its uranium enrichment significantly, Iran has repeatedly said that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and denied that it was developing an atomic bomb. FORDOW The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant is a far more difficult site to target. The plant is buried deep in the mountains near Qom, in northern Iran, and houses advanced centrifuges used to enrich uranium up to high grades of purity. Israel targeted the site during its Friday attacks, but the IAEA said it was not impacted and the IDF has not claimed any significant damage there. Iranian air defenses shot down an Israeli drone in the vicinity of the plant, Iranian state media Press TV reported Friday evening. Fordow's fate could be pivotal to the overall success of Israel's attacks. In 2023, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that uranium particles enriched to 83.7% purity – which is close to the 90% enrichment levels needed to make a nuclear bomb – had been found in Fordow. 'If Fordow remains operational, Israel's attacks may barely slow Iran's path to the bomb," James M. Acton, the co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote on Friday. top videos View all Acton said Israel might be able to collapse the entrance to the facility, but noted that destroying much more of the Fordow site will be a difficult task for Israel. With CNN Inputs About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk More Get Latest Updates on Movies, Breaking News On India, World, Live Cricket Scores, And Stock Market Updates. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : israel iran Israel Iran tension Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: June 15, 2025, 18:19 IST News explainers Israel Attacks Iran's Three Key Nuclear Facilities: The Extent Of Damage Explained
India.com
6 days ago
- Politics
- India.com
Iran issues chilling warning despite attacks by Israel fighter jets, vows to...
New Delhi: Despite the recent military attacks by Israel on Iran, Tehran has made it clear that its nuclear programme will not stop. Giving a statement on national TV, the spokesperson of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said that the Israeli attacks have not affected the intentions of their scientists, but rather, it has boosted their morale. At a time when the Middle East is on the verge of war, Iran's stance can further deepen regional tensions. Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI), said on the country's state channel on Friday, June 13 that our nuclear mission will not be affected by Israel's attacks. According to Mehr News Agency, Iran said that the Zionist enemy (Israel) is trying every way to break the strong will of our scientists. But I say with full confidence that such attacks have strengthened our intentions. Article 4 of NPT Citing the article of NPT, Kamalvandi said that Iran is using its rights under Article 4 of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). According to this article, every country has the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. He said that Iran is pursuing its programme under this legal right and this path will now be decided even more strongly. Not much damage Iran also confirmed that the Natanz nuclear facility was attacked. However, according to Kamalvandi, there was no loss of life or property in this attack and the damage that happened was at the superficial level. He said that we do not have any accurate assessment of the damage yet, but most of the impact has been only on the surface. Both our major centers Natanz and Fordo are underground. Kamalvandi further said that some chemical or radiation-related movement was felt inside the Natanz site, but there is no danger to the outside areas. He said that only some cleaning and restoration work will have to be done inside the site. This makes it clear that Iran is responding to this attack seriously, but without panicking. This response of Iran clearly indicates that it is not going to back down. While Israel's aim is to stop Iran's nuclear programme, this attack can have the opposite effect. Now that Iran is openly saying that it will not give up its nuclear programme, the fear of a major conflict in the Middle East has deepened. The effect of this statement can be seen at the international level in the coming days.
Saudi Gazette
6 days ago
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Iran confirms limited damage to Fordow and Isfahan nuclear sites
TEHRAN — Iran's Atomic Energy Organization confirmed on Friday that limited damage had been inflicted on the Fordow nuclear site south of Tehran and another site in central Isfahan following Israeli airstrikes. 'The damage was limited to areas that did not cause any structural harm in the case of Fordow,' said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for the organization. He added that in Isfahan, multiple sites linked to warehouse facilities caught fire, but emphasized, 'The damage was not widespread and there is no cause for concern regarding nuclear contamination.' The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, informed the UN Security Council on Friday that Iran had notified the agency of Israeli attacks targeting the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant and nuclear sites in Isfahan. Grossi also confirmed that a key above-ground section of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility had been destroyed in the earlier strikes. 'At Natanz, the above-ground section of a pilot fuel enrichment facility where Iran had been producing uranium enriched up to 60 percent was destroyed,' Grossi said. 'Currently, Iranian authorities have informed us of attacks on two other facilities — the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant and Isfahan.' 'At this moment, we do not have sufficient information beyond indicating that military activity has occurred around these two facilities as well,' he added. — Agencies
Saudi Gazette
6 days ago
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Iran confirms nuclear contamination at Natanz site after Israeli strike
TEHRAN — A spokesperson for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (AEO) confirmed Friday that nuclear contamination was detected inside the Natanz nuclear facility following an Israeli missile strike targeting the site. Speaking to state television, AEO spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said Israel had launched multiple missiles at the Natanz complex in central Isfahan province in an effort to strike deep underground areas of the facility. 'Some contamination was detected inside the facility, but this contamination did not spread outside the facility,' Kamalvandi stated, adding that the contamination levels were not considered alarming. The Natanz site, Iran's largest uranium enrichment facility, has been at the center of Western concerns over Tehran's nuclear ambitions. In a separate statement, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed that external radiation levels remained stable. 'Radiation levels outside the Natanz facility remained unchanged. The type of radioactive contamination present inside the facility, mainly alpha particles, can be managed with appropriate protective measures,' Grossi said in a post on Israeli strike on Natanz was part of a broader military campaign launched Thursday, which targeted key nuclear and military sites across incident has heightened regional tensions and cast further doubt over stalled nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States. — Agencies
