by Yonah Jeremy Bob
The IDF had said twice that the underground site beneath Natanz was also destroyed by a military strike.
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A top IDF official on Tuesday acknowledged for the first time that while Israel has destroyed Natanz's above-ground nuclear facilities, the military is unsure whether it succeeded in destroying Iran's uranium-enriching centrifuge fleet at the Natanz underground facility.
This past Friday, the IDF had said that it had succeeded in striking and destroying both the above-ground and specifically also the underground Natanz nuclear sites, including the crucial centrifuge fleet.
However, satellite footage analyzed by the Institute for Science and International Security had already cast doubt on the claims of destroying the Natanz underground facility, while confirming the above-ground destruction.
Then on Monday, IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi told the IAEA Board of Governors that Israel had failed to destroy Iran's uranium-enriching centrifuge fleet at the underground facility at Natanz.
He also acknowledged that the IDF had succeeded in destroying the above-ground Natanz nuclear sites, damaging the electrical grid that runs the underground centrifuges, and causing contamination of the underground facility.
However, on Tuesday, an even more senior IDF official said that they were not sure what the status of the underground facility was.
An IDF official also played down the centrifuges issue (though they provide the all-important uranium for a potential bomb), noting that Israel had destroyed dozens of nuclear weapons group sites and laboratories, which were the most critical element for ever having a chance to move enriched uranium to being used for an actual nuclear weapon.
Grossi and the IAEA then made a third revision of their position even later on Tuesday, saying on X: "Based on continued analysis of high-resolution satellite imagery collected after Friday's attacks, the IAEA has identified additional elements that indicate direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls at Natanz."
In a dizzying range of changing positions, this leaves the IDF on record as having moved from being sure that the centrifuges were destroyed to being uncertain. Meanwhile, the IAEA has moved from denying that the centrifuges were destroyed to saying that they were not directly hit by IDF missiles but may have been damaged indirectly by electrical outages, to saying that IDF missiles likely hit them.
IAEA head: IDF failed to destroy key Iranian nuclear sites
Grossi on Monday had told the Board, "There has been no additional damage at the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant site since the Friday attack, which destroyed the above-ground part of the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant, one of the plants at which Iran was producing uranium enriched up to 60% U-235."Next, he stated, "Electricity infrastructure at the facility, which included an electrical sub-station, a main electric power supply building, and emergency power supply and back-up generators, was also destroyed."
"There has been no indication of a physical attack on the underground cascade hall containing part of the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant and the main Fuel Enrichment Plant. However, the loss of power to the cascade hall may have damaged the centrifuges there," he reported.
Moreover, he said, "The level of radioactivity outside the Natanz site has remained unchanged and at normal levels, indicating no external radiological impact to the population or the environment from this event."
In addition, Grossi said, "Within the Natanz facility, there is both radiological and chemical contamination. Considering the type of nuclear material at this facility, it is possible that Uranium isotopes contained in Uranium Hexafluoride, Uranyl Fluoride and Hydrogen Fluoride are dispersed inside the facility."
Also, the IAEA chief explained that, "The radiation, primarily consisting of alpha particles, poses a significant danger if Uranium is inhaled or ingested. However, this risk can be effectively managed with appropriate protective measures, such as using respiratory protection devices while inside the affected facilities. The main concern inside the facility is the chemical toxicity of the Uranium Hexafluoride and the Fluoride compounds generated at the contact with water."
After his initial statement that the IDF failed to kinetically strike the underground centrifuges, Grossi later told the BBC: "Our assessment is that with this sudden loss of external power, in great probability the centrifuges have been severely damaged if not destroyed altogether."
Moving on from Natanz, Grossi stated that, "No damage has been seen at the site of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant or at the Khondab heavy water reactor, which is under construction. Bushehr nuclear power plant has not been targeted nor affected by the recent attacks, and neither has the Tehran Research Reactor."
Next, he noted, "At the [Isfahan] nuclear site, four buildings were damaged in Friday’s attack: the central chemical laboratory, a uranium conversion plant, the Tehran reactor fuel manufacturing plant, and the UF4 to EU metal processing facility, which was under construction. As in Natanz, off-site radiation levels remain unchanged."
When contacted on Monday, Grossi's staff did not provide comment as to whether their information about the underground facility at Natazn was based on their staff on the ground seeing it up close, long-distance machinery and readings, or relying on Iranian reports.
Yonah Jeremy Bob
Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-858042
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