New satellite images of construction near Natanz site

According to a report by the US Institute for Science and International Security, new satellite images show that Iran is building new underground facilities near the Natanz site. According to these images, underground construction is progressing rapidly.

According to the American Institute for Science and International Security, since the publication of a report on construction near the Natanz nuclear site on November 29, until new satellite images were taken on January 6, construction has taken place in the mountains there, indicating the expansion of this construction.

The report, published on Monday, says that the images can now be used to pinpoint the entrances. The clarity of the satellite images also shows that construction is progressing rapidly in the mountains near the Natanz nuclear facility, which is likely the future location of a new underground centrifuge assembly facility.

Strict security measures

The images show the area under surveillance, which includes the current and future construction staging area, an engineering support site, three excavated tunnel entrances, and several buildings constructed between November and January. Three of the buildings are designed to store explosives and are protected by a security fence. The report by the US Institute for Science and International Security says the tunnels could be access routes to facilities deep inside the mountain. The institute also noted the high level of security at these structures.

In July of this year, an explosion occurred at the Natanz site, causing “significant” financial damage, according to Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. He also said that a decision had been made to build a larger shed with “more and more advanced equipment.” At the time, experts estimated that the explosion could set back Iran’s production of advanced centrifuges by one to two years.

Expansion of activities despite the Natanz incident

Following the explosion at the Natanz site, experts, while pointing to the disruption of Iran’s nuclear program, stressed that the incident would not prevent Iran from producing advanced centrifuges. Two months after the incident, Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, announced the construction of a “more modern, larger, and more comprehensive hall in all dimensions” for the production of more advanced centrifuges in the mountains surrounding Natanz.

A few months later, in early December, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on the installation of more advanced centrifuges at the Natanz uranium enrichment site.

In this regard, Reuters reported on a confidential report that the Atomic Energy Agency provided to the news agency, indicating that the Islamic Republic intends to launch three new cascades of "IR2M" centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear site.

Images released by the Institute for Science and Security show that the area around the "Iranian Centrifuge Assembly Center" has been completely cleared of the remains of the explosion.

A year after the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, the Islamic Republic re-expanded its nuclear activities and has gradually increased its pace over the past year.

Iran, in the latest phase of reducing its JCPOA commitments, has begun enriching uranium to 20 percent at the underground Fordow site and has announced its intention to expel IAEA inspectors from Iran next month.

Iran's threats are serious.

According to Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran is seriously pursuing its 20 percent uranium enrichment program and will soon be able to produce about 10 kilograms of enriched uranium per month. He has emphasized that there are only weeks, not months, left to resume talks with Iran.

Grossi has warned that the Islamic Republic is “determined” to carry out its threat. Fereydoun Abbasi, head of the Energy Commission of the Iranian Parliament, also said in this regard: “If the West does not fulfill its obligations by March of this year, we will prevent the Agency from conducting inspections.”

According to Abbasi, this resolution does not mean expelling the inspectors, but rather: "We will not allow them into the country. According to the laws, when an inspector wants to enter our country, he must be given a visa; so when we prevent it, we will prevent intrusive inspections, and we will do this step by step."

Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, a member of the presidium of the parliament, said in a television program on January 10 that according to the law of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, if the US does not remove financial, banking, and oil sanctions by March 20, we will definitely expel the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors from the country and will definitely stop the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol.

On December 1, the Islamic Consultative Assembly passed the “Strategic Action to Lift Sanctions” law, requiring the government to annually stockpile 120 kilograms of 20 percent enriched uranium. The resolution stated that if international sanctions are not fully lifted, Iran will also refuse to fulfill all of its commitments under the JCPOA. According to the resolution, the government has two months from the date of the resolution’s passage to prevent intrusive inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency if Western countries fail to fulfill their JCPOA commitments.

According to experts, 20% enrichment would pave the way for Iran to produce a nuclear bomb, although the Islamic Republic has repeatedly emphasized that its goal is not to produce nuclear weapons.

Strengthening the defense of nuclear sites

In addition to tightening security measures at the Natanz facility, the Islamic Republic has also taken extensive security measures at other facilities related to its nuclear activities. On December 26, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas reported, citing an informed source inside Iran, that the Islamic Republic of Iran has strengthened its defense equipment around the Fordow and Natanz nuclear sites. According to the report, the air defense and radar equipment of the Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guard Corps have assumed responsibility for defending these facilities: “They have deployed all their defense capabilities to prevent the enrichment process at these facilities from being sabotaged for Iran’s nuclear program and to repel a possible missile attack.”

According to reports, the Iranian-made Bavar-373 long-range missile defense system and the Russian 2K12 Kub medium-range missile defense system have been deployed near the Fordow nuclear site. In mid-December, the Associated Press reported that it had obtained satellite images showing the Islamic Republic engaged in a new operation at the Fordow underground facility.

Source: DW