Israel Expands Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Facilities: A Case Study in the Natanz Detection of Black Smoke in Proton-Deuteron Collisions
“If the Israelis decide to keep bombing them, they will have the ability to re-designate the program if they decide to do so,” he says.
Lewis says he wonders whether military force can truly eliminate Iran’s nuclear program. He says that there is no single facility that has the key to the whole nuclear enterprise in Iran.
There was no evidence to suggest that Israel had struck at tunnels deep beneath the mountain. Iran was reportedly digging those tunnels to create a more fortified facility for its centrifuges. It has promised that it would build a third site in less time than previously thought.
“That’s likely to disrupt operations at the plant, but crucially, what they didn’t do was find a way to destroy the thousands of centrifuges that are buried underground,” Lewis says.
Video posted online and verified by NPR showed black smoke billowing from the Natanz site early Friday morning local time. A set of images from the commercial satellite company Airbus showed damage to the main electrical substation at the facility and to buildings used to assemble and run centrifuges.
Source: Israel expands strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities
An Israeli Air Campaign to Attack Iran’s Nuclear Facilities: Amman, Jordan, Dec. 05 – Early Easuring of the Iran Enrichment Program
Preliminary analysis of satellite imagery at the site suggests the damage from the first wave of attacks was actually limited, according to Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies who has tracked Iran’s program.
The attacks followed repeated concerns from Israel about Iran’s advancing nuclear program. Netanyahu justified the attacks as a fight for survival in a speech to the nation.
It’s unclear how quickly that material could practically be converted into bombs. During the enrichment process, the uranium is stored as a gas. It must be separated and converted into metal, which in turn must be fashioned into components for a nuclear device. Iran has never build a nuclear weapon and had a covert program in the early 2000’s to research one, but has no plans to do so.
The first and most visible strike took place in the opening hours of the Israeli air campaign, which began overnight on Thursday. The Israeli military said that their fighter jets hit the Iranian enrichment facility at Natanz. The underground area of the site was damaged during the strikes. This area contains a multi-story enrichment hall with centrifuges, electrical rooms, and additional supporting infrastructure,” the statement read in part.
“I have consistently said that nuclear facilities should be protected,” Grossi said during the meeting of the agency’s board of governors.
In a statement, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said that the attack at the Natanz plant caused damage but that no radioactive or chemical contamination had leaked outside the site.
AMMAN, Jordan — Israel launched air strikes into Iran early Friday, targeting the country’s nuclear program and prompting Iranian retaliatory strikes as the region braced for further military escalation.
The Israeli strikes killed many top Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists before the planned negotiations on Sunday intended to address international concerns over Iran’s enrichment program.
Later Friday morning, Israel said it intercepted Iranian drones while Jordan said its air force blocked attacks aimed at Israel in Jordanian airspace. Other countries diverted or canceled flights while Jordan, Israel, Iran and Iraq closed their airspace.
Iran has been found to be in violation of non-proliferation agreements which aim at stopping the spread of nuclear weapons. Iran says its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful purposes.
Iranian nuclear scientists killed in a clash with the Israeli military: “Israel says it killed nine nuclear scientists, and braces for attacks from Iran”
Trump said he was giving the nation “chance after chance to make a deal” on its nuclear program and said that the alternative “would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told.”
“I gave Iran 60 days to make a deal, and I did so two months ago.” They should have done it. he wrote on Truth Social. “Now they may have a second chance!”
On Saturday, the minister of foreign affairs of the sultanate said that the meeting had been canceled. He said thatdiplomacy and dialogue were the only way to lasting peace.
The sixth round of discussions about Iran’s nuclear program was scheduled to begin on Sunday in the sultanate ofOman. The U.S. was trying to strike a deal with Iran to limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for lifting sanctions, which have crippled Iran’s economy.
The scientists’ deaths are seen as a significant blow to Iran’s ability to pursue weapons of mass destruction, as claimed by the Israeli military.
Iran responded to the Israeli strikes with a barrage of missiles, killing at least three people and injuring dozens more. Iranian state media said there would be “heavy and destructive attacks against Israel” Saturday night as well
Source: Israel says it killed 9 Iranian nuclear scientists, and braces for attacks from Iran
U.S. air defense systems shoot down Iranian missiles in a “terrorist” attack on Iran, according to a U.N. ambassador
The escalating conflict has raised fears that it could cause a conflict that could affect other countries and cause turmoil in the global energy markets.
The air defense systems of the U.S. helped shoot down the Iranian missiles. The U.S. official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Speaking to the U.N. Security Council on Friday, Iran’s U.N. ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani accused Israel of trying to “kill diplomacy” and called the country “the most dangerous and terrorist regime in the world.” He urged the Security Council to hold Israel accountable.
Iravani said 78 people were killed and over 320 people — mostly civilians — were injured. Iran’s state television reported that a residential building in Tehran was also hit, and the death toll was expected to rise.
Israeli emergency services organization Magen David Adom reported that at least three people were dead and dozens more injured. The Palestinian Red Crescent said that children were among the Palestinians injured by shrapnel near the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Iran “crossed red lines” by firing missiles at “civilian population concentrations,” and warned it would would pay a “very heavy price,” the Times of Israel reported.
The prime minister said in Friday’s video that the attack on Iran was in the works for months, after the assassination of Hezbollah’s leader in Lebanon.