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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. forces person attacked 3 Iranian atomic and subject sites, further upping the stakes successful the Israel-Iran war.
President Donald Trump said the strikes, which helium described arsenic “very successful,” had deed the Natanz, Fordo and Isfahan sites, with Fordo being the superior target. Iran’s state-run IRNA quality bureau confirmed determination were attacks aboriginal Sunday astatine each 3 atomic sites.
Israel launched a astonishment barrage of attacks connected sites successful Iran connected June 13, which Israeli officials said was indispensable to caput disconnected what they claimed was an imminent menace that Iran would physique atomic bombs.
Iran, which has agelong insisted its atomic programme is peaceful, has retaliated with a bid of rocket and drone strikes successful Israel, portion Israel has continued to onslaught sites successful Iran.
The U.S. and Iran had been successful talks that could person resulted successful the U.S. lifting immoderate of its crushing economical sanctions connected Iran successful speech for Tehran drastically limiting oregon ending its enrichment of uranium. Until Saturday, Washington had helped sprout down Iranian strikes connected Israel but had not launched nonstop attacks connected Iran.
Here’s a look astatine the sites Trump said the U.S. struck and their value to Iran's atomic program.
Natanz enrichment facility
Iran’s atomic installation astatine Natanz, located immoderate 220 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of Tehran, is the country’s main enrichment tract and had already been targeted by Israeli airstrikes. Uranium had been enriched to up to 60% purity astatine the tract — a mildly radioactive level but a abbreviated measurement distant from weapons people — earlier Israel destroyed the aboveground portion of the facility, according to the U.N.’s atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Another portion of the installation connected Iran’s Central Plateau is underground to support against imaginable airstrikes. It operates aggregate cascades, oregon groups of centrifuges moving unneurotic to much rapidly enrich uranium. The IAEA has said it believes that astir if not each of these centrifuges were destroyed by an Israeli onslaught that chopped disconnected powerfulness to the site.
The IAEA said those strikes caused contamination lone astatine the tract itself, not the surrounding area.
Iran besides is burrowing into the Kūh-e Kolang Gaz Lā, oregon Pickax Mountain, which is conscionable beyond Natanz’s confederate fencing. Natanz has been targeted by the Stuxnet virus, believed to beryllium an Israeli and American creation, which destroyed Iranian centrifuges. Two abstracted attacks, attributed to Israel, besides person struck the facility.
Fordo enrichment facility
Iran’s atomic installation astatine Fordo is located immoderate 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Tehran. It besides hosts centrifuge cascades, but isn’t arsenic large arsenic Natanz. Its operation began astatine slightest successful 2007, according to the IAEA, though Iran lone informed the U.N. atomic watchdog astir the installation successful 2009 aft the U.S. and allied Western quality agencies became alert of its existence.
Buried nether a upland and protected by anti-aircraft batteries, Fordo appears designed to withstand airstrikes. Military experts person said it could apt lone beryllium targeted by “bunker buster” bombs — a word for bombs that are designed to penetrate heavy beneath the aboveground earlier exploding — specified arsenic the latest GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator weaponry successful the American arsenal. The astir 30,000 lb (13,600 kilogram) precision-guided weaponry is designed to onslaught profoundly buried and hardened bunkers and tunnels.
The U.S. has lone configured and programed its B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to present that bomb, according to the Air Force. The B-2 is lone flown by the Air Force, and is produced by Northrop Grumman, meaning that Washington would person to beryllium progressive successful specified an operation.
Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center
The installation successful Isfahan, immoderate 350 kilometers (215 miles) southeast of Tehran, employs thousands of atomic scientists. It besides is location to 3 Chinese probe reactors and laboratories associated with the country’s atomic program.
Israel has struck buildings astatine the Isfahan atomic site, among them a uranium conversion facility. The IAEA said determination has been nary motion of accrued radiation astatine the site.
Other atomic sites
Iran has respective different sites successful its atomic programme that were not announced arsenic targets successful the U.S. strikes.
Iran’s lone commercialized atomic powerfulness works is successful Bushehr connected the Persian Gulf, immoderate 750 kilometers (465 miles) southbound of Tehran. Iran is gathering 2 different reactors similar it astatine the site. Bushehr is fueled by uranium produced successful Russia, not Iran, and is monitored by the IAEA.
The Arak dense h2o reactor is 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of Tehran. Heavy h2o helps chill atomic reactors, but it produces plutonium arsenic a byproduct that tin perchance beryllium utilized successful atomic weapons. Iran had agreed nether its 2015 atomic woody with satellite powers to redesign the installation to relieve proliferation concerns.
The Tehran Research Reactor is astatine the office of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the civilian assemblage overseeing the country’s atomic program. It initially required highly enriched uranium but was aboriginal retrofitted to usage low-enriched uranium implicit proliferation concerns.
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Associated Press unit writer Abby Sewell successful Beirut contributed to this report.
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The Associated Press receives enactment for atomic information sum from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely liable for each content.
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Additional AP sum of the atomic landscape: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/
