How Israeli strikes dealt a serious blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions

Israel s sweeping attack across Iran struck at the heart of Tehran s nuclear activity delivering a blow to the country s ability to enrich uranium and potentially setting its nuclear ambitions back by months or years As well as killing key military figures and nuclear scientists the Israeli strikes destroyed part of a plant that was enriching uranium to levels far beyond the requirements for nuclear-fueled power stations The attacks also destroyed backup power for the underground section of the plant potentially damaging more sensitive equipment Iran s nuclear undertaking has progressed rapidly since when the U S withdrew from a deal to limit Tehran s maximum to enrich uranium which is necessary to build a nuclear weapon Iran maintains that its scheme is peaceful but the head of the International Atomic Vitality Agency has repeatedly warned that the country has enough enriched uranium to make several nuclear bombs if it chose to do so Nuclear regulators declared the assault was unlikely to lead to increased levels of radiation even at the site where part of the fuel-enrichment plant was destroyed Here s a closer look at the attack and its likely effects on Iran s nuclear efforts What impact will the attacks have on Iran s nuclear project Israel killed top military figures and nuclear scientists and destroyed part of a key enrichment site There is no question it did substantial damage stated Fabian Hinz an expert on Iran s nuclear undertaking at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London David Albright a nuclear weapons expert speculated that the initial wave of attacks could set back any Iranian attempt to develop a nuclear weapon by about a year A key question Hinz noted is whether Israel also targeted suppliers of specialist components such as centrifuges and subcontractors Israel s strategy appears to be to destroy the brains behind the project and as much equipment as practicable announced Albright who agreed that Israel has potentially done a tremendous amount of damage to the venture Israel is widely inferred to be behind a series of attacks in latest years that targeted Iranian nuclear scientists and sabotaged nuclear facilities What damage was done to Iran s nuclear facilities Hinz suggested a key Israeli goal was to undermine Iran s ability to make centrifuges which are critical for enriching uranium Uranium enrichment is a key component of building a nuclear weapon but weapons also require detonators and a means of delivery like missiles Iran has two uranium-enrichment sites and the country noted Wednesday that it has built and will activate a third enrichment facility On Thursday Israel struck Iran s main and oldest facility in Natanz kilometers miles southeast of Tehran which was protected by anti-aircraft batteries fencing and Iran s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard The IAEA s chief Rafael Grossi reported an urgency meeting of the U N Shield Council on Friday that the above-ground part of the plant where uranium was enriched up to was destroyed along with electrical infrastructure including a substation the main electric power supply building the urgency power supply and backup generators Grossi stated there were no changes to radiation levels following the attack or any indication of damage to the underground section of the plant That part of the facility is buried to protect it from airstrikes and contains the bulk of Natanz s enrichment facilities with centrifuges that enrich uranium up to Albright declared However Grossi reported the loss of power may have damaged centrifuges There is a good chance the strikes still caused massive damage Hinz disclosed because a multitude of of the centrifuges were maybe operating at the time of the strike Centrifuges Albright declared don t like vibration and the shock waves or loss of power could break delicate parts when they are rotating at high speed What about the Fordo nuclear site Majority of of Iran s centrifuges are in Natanz the experts noted because a lot of them are required to enrich uranium to which is the maximum level normally used for nuclear-fueled power stations But buried under a huge mountain at Fordo around kilometers miles southwest of Tehran is another nuclear facility where Iran is also enriching uranium to which is only a short step away from weapons-grade levels of According to the IAEA Tehran has the largest number of its largest part powerful centrifuges at Fordo An Iranian news outlet close to the authorities communicated Friday that two explosions were heard near the Fordo site But while Israel could potentially hit the entrance to Fordo and temporarily block access it is not assumed to have the type of earth-penetrating bombs required to blow up the mountain and crack open the nuclear facility inside Hinz declared That maximum lies with the U S which has developed a massive bomb that can be dropped only from large aircraft that Israel does not have in system he reported The probable for more strikes loomed large Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has revealed the attacks will continue for as countless days at it takes to remove this threat Hinz explained the attacks evidenced Israeli intelligence had absolutely exceptional knowledge of Iran s nuclear undertaking and the ability to strike at key targets with precision That could mean Israel could sabotage the plant rather than trying to blast the mountain open Albright suggested Israel could try to cut off electricity to Fordo which could lead to centrifuges urgent Is there danger from radiation Although Grossi revealed part of the enrichment facility at Natanz was destroyed he noted that radiation levels had not spiked Even if radiation did leak experts stated the amount would be unlikely to pose a peril to people in the region or even those near the facilities that got hit Very little uranium will be circulated in these kind of attacks Albright declared Uranium itself is not especially toxic he commented and is common in parts of the setting A person standing near an enrichment facility with a leak would apparently be exposed to no more radiation than someone who took several transatlantic flights which receive slightly higher radiation because radiation doses are larger at high altitudes he declared In order to become sick someone would have to ingest large quantities of uranium Albright declared pointing out that the element can be located naturally in seawater and the earth s crust Rather than radiation the greater hazard might be from fluorine which is used to enrich uranium and could have been deadly to those nearby if disclosed during an attack Fluorine is mixed with the uranium during enrichment to turn it into a gas called uranium hexafluoride It is extremely volatile will rapidly corrode and can burn the skin It is especially deadly if inhaled The Associated Press receives sponsorship for nuclear measure coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation The 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