Kolkata: Israel attacked several places in Iran on June 13 and claimed to have targeted the latter’s nuclear programme. In response, Iran has vowed retaliation and the Israeli military is working to thwart the counter-attacks. A a state of emergency has been declared in Israel. Notably, the attack is said to have killed Hossein Salami, the chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards.
The most interesting aspect of this attack is probably the fact that Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities. In the operation, named ‘Rising Lion’, Israel hit several military and nuclear targets across Tehran, including the Natanz nuclear site in central Iran. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed the hit.
What is the Natanz nuclear site?
The Natanz nuclear facility is the main nuclear facility in Iran. Located near Natanz, the facility was constructed for uranium enrichment and forms an integral part of Iran’s nuclear program. A concrete shield which is approximately 7.6 meters thick protects this underground enrichment facility.
The Natanz facility has both the commercial Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) and the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP). It has three underground buildings, two of which are designed to hold 50,000 centrifuges, and six above ground buildings. Two of the above ground buildings are 2,500 meter halls used for gas centrifuge assemblies.
In 2002, an exiled Iranian opposition group revealed the existence of the facility. It has been targeted several times previously, with the sabotage attempts in April 2021 and 2020, being most recent, with Tehran blaming Tel Aviv on both occasion.
In 2023, Iran revamped the site and fencing, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, and anti-aircraft batteries are guarding the place. A report by Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) on October 2022 stated that Iran had installed 4,000 advanced centrifuges across its enrichment facilities. At the Natanz site, new deployments included 6 IR-2m cascades and one IR-4 cascade.
In November 2024, the Washington Post reported that as per satellite images, there was construction taking place at the Natanz facility. Also, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced that Iran is building an advanced centrifuge assembly plant in the underground of the Natanz facility.
