The Washington Post has reported on a major expansion underway at Iran’s heavily fortified Fordow nuclear facility, which could soon triple its production of enriched uranium, potentially allowing Tehran to rapidly assemble a nuclear arsenal if it chooses to do so.
According to confidential documents and analysis by weapons experts cited in the article, inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have confirmed new construction activity inside the Fordow enrichment plant.
Iran has formally notified the IAEA of plans for a substantial upgrade at this underground facility built inside a mountain in north-central Iran.
The expansion at Fordow alone could allow Iran to accumulate several bombs’ worth of nuclear fuel every month, according to a technical analysis provided to The Washington Post.
Fordow is regarded as particularly significant because its subterranean setting makes it nearly invulnerable to airstrikes. Iran has disclosed plans for expanding production at its main enrichment plant near Natanz as well.
These moves are certain to escalate tensions with Western governments and fuel fears that Tehran is moving rapidly toward becoming a threshold nuclear power, capable of making nuclear bombs quickly if its leaders decide to do so.
While Iran claims it has no plans to make nuclear weapons, leaders of the country’s nuclear energy program have begun asserting publicly that their scientists now possess all the components and skills for nuclear bombs and could build one quickly if ordered.
Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium has been growing steadily since the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018.
The planned expansion, if fully completed, would represent a significant leap in Iran’s capacity for producing fissile fuel used in both nuclear power plants and, with additional refining, nuclear weapons.
The Biden administration has warned that Iran’s planned actions further undermine its claims of peaceful purposes and that the U.S. will respond accordingly if Iran implements these plans.
Source » voanews