“Iran’s nuclear enterprise is far from destroyed,” experts say, despite U.S. claims.
U.S. officials have hailed recent military strikes on three key Iranian nuclear sites as a devastating blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. However, independent experts analyzing satellite imagery dispute the extent of the damage, saying Iran’s nuclear capabilities remain largely intact.
“If this ends here, it’s a really incomplete strike,” said Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. He noted that Iran’s stocks of highly enriched uranium appear untouched.
The operation, dubbed “Operation Midnight Hammer,” involved seven B-2 bombers dropping 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on Fordo and Natanz, while a U.S. submarine launched cruise missiles at Isfahan.
Despite visible damage at the sites, experts point to pre-strike imagery showing trucks at Fordo and Isfahan possibly moving or sealing entrances to underground storage areas. “One would assume that any enriched uranium stocks were hauled away,” said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security.
Iran reportedly holds over 400 kg of 60% enriched uranium—enough for multiple bombs. Both Lewis and Albright warn that Iran could reconstitute its program, possibly at covert sites.
“Even the most brilliant bombing campaign, probably is not going to get us where we want to be,” Lewis concluded.