Israeli army claims to have destroyed main Iranian nuclear facility — Iran denies this

Author:
Oleksandr Bulin
Date:

The Israeli military said it had caused serious damage to the Natanz nuclear facility, including underground facilities and centrifuges. Iran said the damage was "superficial".

Reuters and The Times of Israel write about this.

The city of Natanz is home to two facilities that enrich uranium for Iranʼs nuclear program. One of them is a huge underground plant. Israeli Defense Forces said it had destroyed the underground section, which houses a "multi-level enrichment hall with centrifuges, electrical rooms and other supporting infrastructure".

Iran acknowledged the damage, but said it was only “superficial”. IAEA showed data from Iranian officials that radiation levels had not increased.

As can be seen from satellite images published by OSINT analyst Damien Symon, the base has suffered serious damage, but it is not yet possible to determine the condition of the underground facilities.

  • Reuters reports that more than 20 senior Iranian commanders were killed in the attack. The latest known casualty is the commander of the Aerospace Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Amir Ali Hajizadeh. Earlier, it was reported that the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Hossein Salami, and the commander of the Hatem al-Anbiya (Emergency Command) Hatem-Gholam Ali Rashid, were killed.
  • In order to neutralize Iranian air defenses, Mossad established a UAV base on Iranian territory long before the attack. They were launched simultaneously even before the attack began.
  • Following the large-scale Israeli shelling, Iran reported that it would not participate in talks with the United States on its nuclear program, scheduled for June 15.

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