New satellite photos of Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility show that the explosion at the site last week caused an extensive amount of damage to the centrifuge production area. Almost three-quarters of Iran’s main centrifuge production area was destroyed by the explosion, David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) told The Jerusalem Post. Albright said that the new satellite pictures reveal much more than the footage released last week, showing that “the vast majority of the centrifuge assembly hall was wiped out.” “It is clear that a major explosion took place, destroying nearly three-quarters of the main centrifuge assembly hall, generating a fire that blackened a major portion of the building, the blackening visible where the roof had been blown away by the explosion,” Albright said. Imagery taken by Maxar satellite this morning (July 8) over Natanz brings a new high-resolution photo of the centrifuge balancing facility. Comparison with the one taken on June 29 demonstrates the magnitude of the devastation caused by the blast. image:@ Maxar pic.twitter.com/pcHcDfogzI — Ronen Bergman (@ronenbergman) July 8, 2020 A report by the ISIS think tank says that the Natanz site, built in 2018: “was critical to the mass production of advanced centrifuges, in particular the assembly of rotor assemblies, the rapidly spinning part of the centrifuge and its most crucial component.” “An annex to the building was intended to assemble electrical components of centrifuges, including motors – another important component of centrifuges.” The extensive damage is likely to lead to a significant delay in Iran’s nuclear program. A New York Times article on Sunday said that Israel is responsible for the explosion at the Natanz nuclear site, quoting an anonymous Middle Eastern intelligence official. The blast at the site was one of a series of mysterious incidents occurring in Iran over the past week. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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