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Iranian uranium-enriching facility is damaged by explosion
Sheera Frenkel Tel Aviv
Last updated at 12:01AM, January 28 2013
An explosion is believed to have damaged Irans Fordow nuclear facility, which is being used to enrich uranium, Israeli intelligence officials have told The Times. Sources in Tel Aviv said yesterday that they thought the explosion happened last week. The Israeli Government is investigating reports that it led to extensive structural damage and 200 workers had been trapped inside.
Israel believes the Iranians have not evacuated the surrounding area. It is unclear whether that is because no harmful substances have been released, or because Tehran is trying to avoid sparking panic among residents.
The Fordow plant is buried deep underground inside a mountain near the holy city of Qom. It is thought to be Irans most heavily fortified facility and is regarded as impervious to Israeli airstrikes. Many of Fordows 2,700 nuclear centrifuges are stored hundreds of feet below ground in bunkers.
One Israeli official said: We are still in the preliminary stages of understanding what happened and how significant it is. He did not know, he added, if the explosion was sabotage or accident, and refused to comment on reports that Israeli aircraft were seen near the facility at the time of the explosion.
WND, the American right-wing website that first reported the explosion, claimed it had happened last Monday, one day before Israeli elections. The website said that Hamidreza Zakeri, a former employee of Tehrans Ministry of Intelligence and National Security who now lives in exile, had confirmed that Fordow had been hit.
The blast shook facilities within a radius of three miles. Security forces have enforced a no-traffic radius of 15 miles, the report said. These claims could not be verified last night.
Last year Tehran sought to double its capacity at Fordow to boost the amount of 20 per cent enriched uranium it could produce. Uranium enriched to 20 per cent fuels Irans main research reactor, but it is also just below the level useable in nuclear bombs. Avi Dichter, the Israeli Home Front Defence Minister, said: Any explosion in Iran that doesnt hurt people but hurts Irans assets is welcome.
In briefings given recently to The Times, Israeli intelligence officers provided satellite imagery that showed new fortifications had been built around Fordows perimeter. This is already Irans most heavily fortified facility, one officer said. He added that while there were larger facilities, intelligence estimates suggested that nuclear scientists at Fordow were producing medium-enriched uranium, which could be converted to bomb grade.
Sheera Frenkel Tel Aviv
Last updated at 12:01AM, January 28 2013
An explosion is believed to have damaged Irans Fordow nuclear facility, which is being used to enrich uranium, Israeli intelligence officials have told The Times. Sources in Tel Aviv said yesterday that they thought the explosion happened last week. The Israeli Government is investigating reports that it led to extensive structural damage and 200 workers had been trapped inside.
Israel believes the Iranians have not evacuated the surrounding area. It is unclear whether that is because no harmful substances have been released, or because Tehran is trying to avoid sparking panic among residents.
The Fordow plant is buried deep underground inside a mountain near the holy city of Qom. It is thought to be Irans most heavily fortified facility and is regarded as impervious to Israeli airstrikes. Many of Fordows 2,700 nuclear centrifuges are stored hundreds of feet below ground in bunkers.
One Israeli official said: We are still in the preliminary stages of understanding what happened and how significant it is. He did not know, he added, if the explosion was sabotage or accident, and refused to comment on reports that Israeli aircraft were seen near the facility at the time of the explosion.
WND, the American right-wing website that first reported the explosion, claimed it had happened last Monday, one day before Israeli elections. The website said that Hamidreza Zakeri, a former employee of Tehrans Ministry of Intelligence and National Security who now lives in exile, had confirmed that Fordow had been hit.
The blast shook facilities within a radius of three miles. Security forces have enforced a no-traffic radius of 15 miles, the report said. These claims could not be verified last night.
Last year Tehran sought to double its capacity at Fordow to boost the amount of 20 per cent enriched uranium it could produce. Uranium enriched to 20 per cent fuels Irans main research reactor, but it is also just below the level useable in nuclear bombs. Avi Dichter, the Israeli Home Front Defence Minister, said: Any explosion in Iran that doesnt hurt people but hurts Irans assets is welcome.
In briefings given recently to The Times, Israeli intelligence officers provided satellite imagery that showed new fortifications had been built around Fordows perimeter. This is already Irans most heavily fortified facility, one officer said. He added that while there were larger facilities, intelligence estimates suggested that nuclear scientists at Fordow were producing medium-enriched uranium, which could be converted to bomb grade.
