The nuclear mountain that chases Israel

For Israeli military planners, Doom is similar to a tightly deprived nuclear enrichment factory, and a half kilometers are buried under a mountain, and it rings with air defenses and is located at a symbolic level near the ancient religious city of Qom.

To Tehran, the Fordow facility symbolizes its desire to protect its nuclear program, designed to survive in a full front attack, with enough centrifugal and highly enriched uranium devices to produce a nuclear weapon, or “outbreak”.

He was buried under solid rocks, covered with reinforced concrete that places it outside the destroyed weapons of any of Israel’s weapons known publicly, as it is also a symbol of Iran’s strategic anxiety.

“Ford is nuclear operations in everything of everything,” said Pinnam Bin Talblo, a older colleague at the Defense Defense Foundation, an American research center.

Iran confirmed on Saturday that Ford had been attacked, according to the semi -official ISNA news agency, noting a spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization in the country, although the damage was limited.

In contrast, Israel has succeeded in destroying the largest experimental enrichment factory in Iran in Natanz, and Raphael Grossi, head of the United Nations International Agency, said to the Security Council on Friday.

Central underground halls may have become useless due to extensive damage to Natanz’s electricity supplies, according to the analysis of open source satellites by the International Science Institute and Security Thought (ISIS).

“Fordo will be a challenge without the United States,” said Danny Citrinovich, an expert at the Institute of National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

“Iran has not yet approached the point (the destruction of its nuclear program) … they still have great capabilities,” added Citrinowicz, who said Ford will be the last goal, in Israel’s air campaign.

Global, Fordo is not a uniquely protected facility. Each major military force with a nuclear program has similar underground military warehouses that inspired countless spying and conspiracy theories.

Raven Rock in the United States, the so -called “Pentagon Underground”, built on Pennsylvania. It is believed that the Russian secret Yamantaw Mountain includes a large nuclear weapons facility.

The same applies to the North Korean missile bases that were built in the mountains, while the Chinese Longpo naval base includes an underground facility for nuclear submarines that are reached across the tunnels.

However, Fordo is the only main military base that has been attacked – a precedent showing the extraordinary risks taken by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by declaring Israeli attacks this week.

Iranian officials have long denied the request of a bomb, and the last evaluation of the threats issued by the American Intelligence Society this year was concluded that Iran had not restarted the nuclear weapons program that it suspended under international pressure in 2003.

But if Tehran will take this path, ISIS estimates can completely transform Iran’s Fordo inventory of highly enriched uranium – evaluated as 408 kg by IAEA inspectors in May – for production in just three weeks of uranium weapons to manufacture nine nuclear weapons.

ISIS warned: “Iran could produce its first amount of 25 kg of (the uranium weapons) in Ford in less than two to three days.”

The differences between Fordow and Natanz envelop a lot of Tehran’s nuclear history-in addition to the multilateral efforts made to reduce enrichment efforts, thus anticipating the type of attack launched by Israel this week.

After the public revelation on a secret facility, Natanz eventually announced by Iran to the United Nations in 2003. While the sprawling industrial complex contains up to 16,000 centrifuges, the design is intended to enrich uranium on a large scale at lower levels.

This, in addition to the regular inspection of the United Nations, made it more suitable for civil nuclear use. The underground enrichment factory in Natanz was also buried about 20 meters underground.

On the contrary, what makes the Fordow stand out is geological durability that makes the centrifugal halls effectively inhaleable for traditional bombs. This may include even the giant in the United States to penetrate huge munitions that can withstand 60 meters of concrete.

It was created in secrecy, the presence of Fordo publicly was exposed in September 2009 in a moment of high drama when American, British and French officials classified intelligence that showed that Iran had secretly built a deep secret factory inside Mount Kan “that is not compatible with a peaceful program.”

The result, which strengthened what Iranian Minister Gordon Brown described the “serial deception” of Iran, was so dramatic that it led to a rare Russian reprimand for Iran and a warning from China.

Iran stood firm at the time. President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nadijad said: “What we did was completely legal,” adding: “What is your work to tell us what to do?”

However, Ford came at the Center for Exposed International attempts to reduce the Iranian nuclear program. This led to an increase in the United Nations sanctions and was at the heart of the 2015 multilateral deal with Iran – known as the joint comprehensive work plan – and global powers including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany.

In exchange for sanctions, Iran agreed to Iran, among other measures, to convert the facility into a research center, install the centrifuge there, stop enriching uranium for 15 years, and allowing the supervision of improved international inspectors.

The United States withdrew from JCPOA in 2018 during the first presidency of Donald Trump, and since then, Iran has moved to enrich more uranium.

After the explosion of 2021 in Natanz, which blaming Iran on Israel, which was affected by its enrichment, Tehran put the Fordow Whirring Central instead. They began to transform Iran’s inventory of low -fertilized uranium to 60 percent of purity, from which it is possible to produce uranium weapons within days.

Analysts believe that Fordo, if not destroyed by Israeli attacks, could form the position of Iranian efforts “to go out.” The country can withdraw from the nuclear non -proliferation treaty, stop cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and soon build a nuclear bomb.

Earlier, Iran threatened such a response if its nuclear facilities were at all targeted, although this step can attract the US military to the Israeli campaign.

In addition to the risks, Fordow is not the only facility to take off the effects that Iran can return to. Tehran recently built a deeper and best protection facility in Kūh-E Kolang Gaz Lā, also known as Pickaxe Mountain, a few kilometers south of Natanz.

While Fordo is believed to have a tunnel entrance, Pickaxe has at least four, which makes it difficult to close the entrances by bombing. Its halls also contain more floors.

Some fear that the facility, which has so far prevented the International Atomic Energy Agency from inspection, could even collect a nuclear weapon while Iran was attacking.

“The main question is whether Iran would work, or perhaps it had already secreted it, explained materials in Pickaxe, or any other unknown facility,” said Ben Telplo of FDD.

It is a drawing