What Is the Status of Iran's Uranium Enrichment Sites?
Iran has two main enrichment sites--Natanz and Fordow. Both are built to protect from strikes. Natanz is underground, while Fordow is built deep into a mountainside, near the holy city of Qom.
Iran said on Thursday that it would accelerate its production of near-weapons-grade uranium and open a previously unrevealed enrichment site in a secure location.
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Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Israel and Iran trade strikes for third day as nuclear talks called off
Israel has unleashed air strikes across Iran for a third day and threatened even greater force as some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defences to strike buildings in the heart of the country. Planned talks on Iran's nuclear programme, which could provide an off-ramp, were called off. The region braced for a protracted conflict after Israel's surprise bombardment of Iran's nuclear and military sites on Friday killed several top generals and nuclear scientists, and neither side showed any sign of backing down. Iran said Israel struck two oil refineries, raising the prospect of a broader assault on Iran's heavily sanctioned energy industry that could affect global markets. The Israeli military, in a social media post, warned Iranians to evacuate arms factories, signalling what could be a further widening of the campaign. US President Donald Trump has expressed full support for Israel's actions while warning Iran that it can only avoid further destruction by agreeing to a new nuclear deal. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that if the Israeli strikes on Iran stop, then 'our responses will also stop'. New explosions echoed across Tehran and were reported elsewhere in the country early on Sunday, but there was no update to a death toll put out the day before by Iran's UN ambassador, who said 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded. In Israel, at least 10 people were killed in Iranian strikes overnight and into Sunday, according to Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service, bringing the country's total death toll to 13. The country's main international airport and airspace remained closed for a third day. Israeli strikes targeted Iran's Defence Ministry early on Sunday after hitting air defences, military bases and sites associated with its nuclear programme. The killing of several top generals and nuclear scientists in targeted strikes indicated that Israeli intelligence has penetrated Iran at the highest levels. In Israel, at least six people, including a 10-year-old and a nine-year-old, were killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv. Daniel Hadad, a local police commander, said 180 people were wounded and seven are still missing. An Associated Press (AP) reporter saw streets lined with damaged and destroyed buildings, bombed out cars and shards of glass. Responders used a drone at points to look for survivors. Some people could be seen leaving the area with suitcases. Another four people, including a 13-year-old, were killed and 24 wounded when a missile struck a building in the Arab town of Tamra in northern Israel. A strike on the central city of Rehovot wounded 42. The Weizmann Institute of Science, an important centre for research in Rehovot, said 'there were a number of hits to buildings on the campus'. It said no-one was harmed. Israel has sophisticated multi-tiered air defences that are able to detect and intercept missiles fired at populated areas or key infrastructure, but officials acknowledge it is imperfect. World leaders made urgent calls to de-escalate. The attack on nuclear sites sets a 'dangerous precedent', China's foreign minister said. The region is already on edge as Israel seeks to annihilate Hamas, an Iranian ally, in the Gaza Strip, where the war is still raging after Hamas's October 7 2023 attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off such calls, saying Israel's strikes so far are 'nothing compared to what they will feel under the sway of our forces in the coming days'. Israel, the sole though undeclared nuclear-armed state in the Middle East – said it launched the attack to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The two countries have been regional adversaries for decades. Iran has always said its nuclear programme was peaceful, and the US and others have assessed it has not pursued a weapon since 2003. But it has enriched ever larger stockpiles of uranium to near weapons-grade levels in recent years and was believed to have been able to develop multiple weapons within months if it chose to do so. The UN's atomic watchdog censured Iran last week for not complying with its obligations. Mr Araghchi said Israel had targeted an oil refinery near Tehran and another in the country's Bushehr province on the Persian Gulf. He said Iran had also targeted 'economic' sites in Israel, without elaborating. Mr Araghchi was speaking to diplomats in his first public appearance since the initial Israeli strikes. Semi-official Iranian news agencies reported that an Israeli drone strike had caused a 'strong explosion' at an Iranian natural-gas processing plant. Israel's military did not immediately comment. The extent of damage at the South Pars natural gas field was not immediately clear. Such sites have air defence systems around them, which Israel has been targeting. The Arab Gulf country of Oman, which has been mediating indirect talks between the US and Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme, said a sixth round planned for Sunday would not take place. 'We remain committed to talks and hope the Iranians will come to the table soon,' a senior US official said. Mr Araghchi said on Saturday that the nuclear talks were 'unjustifiable' after Israel's strikes, which he said were the 'result of the direct support by Washington'. In a post on his Truth Social account early on Sunday, Mr Trump reiterated that the US was not involved in the attacks on Iran and warned that any retaliation directed against it would bring an American response 'at levels never seen before'. 'However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!' he wrote.
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Iran missiles kill 10 in Israel in night of mutual attacks
Iranian missile fire on Israel killed at least 10 people overnight, authorities said Sunday, as the foes exchanged new waves of attacks in their most intense confrontation in history. In Iran, a heavy cloud of smoke billowed over the capital after Israeli aircraft struck two fuel depots. For days, Iranians have formed long queues at gas stations fearing shortages. US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Washington "had nothing to do" with ally Israel's intense bombardment campaign that was launched early Friday, targeting key military and nuclear sites in Iran. But Trump threatened to launch "the full strength and might" if Iran attacks US interests, saying on his Truth Social platform that "we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!" Israeli police said six people were killed and at least 180 injured at the site of an overnight missile strike in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv on Israel's Mediterranean coast. First responders wearing helmets and headlamps combed through the bombed-out building as dawn broke, with police saying at least seven people were missing, feared buried under the rubble. "There was an explosion and I thought the whole house had collapsed," said Bat Yam resident Shahar Ben Zion. "It was a miracle we survived." In the north of Israel, rescuers and medics said a strike late Saturday destroyed a three-storey building in the town of Tamra, killing four women and taking the overall death toll in the country since Friday to 13. Iran's UN ambassador said 78 people were killed and 320 wounded in Friday's first wave of Israeli strikes. Iranian authorities have not provided an updated toll as of early Sunday, but Tehran says Israel has killed top army commanders and nuclear scientists. - 'Red line' - After decades of enmity and conflict by proxy, it is the first time the arch-enemies have traded fire with such intensity, triggering fears of a prolonged conflict that could engulf the entire Middle East. In Iran's capital early Sunday, AFP journalists heard a series of blasts. Israel said its forces had struck the defence ministry headquarters in Tehran, where Iranian news agency Tasnim reported damage. The ministry did not comment. The Israeli military also said it had struck nuclear sites including the secretive Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), fuel tankers and other targets. The Iranian oil ministry said Israel struck two fuel depots in the Tehran area. An AFP journalist saw a depot at Shahran, northwest of the capital, on fire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to hit "every target of the ayatollah regime", while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned further strikes would draw "a more severe and powerful response". Israeli strikes have hit Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment plant and killed its highest-ranking military officer, Mohammad Bagheri, as well as the head of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami. On Sunday, the Israeli military warned Iranians to evacuate areas near weapons facilities nationwide. "The Zionist regime crossed a new red line in international law" by "attacking nuclear facilities", Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told foreign diplomats, according to state TV. He also said Tehran had "solid proof" US forces supported the Israeli attacks. "We are defending ourselves; our defence is entirely legitimate... If the aggression stops, naturally our responses will also stop." - UK 'support' - The attacks persisted despite global calls for de-escalation, with Iran scrapping its latest nuclear talks with the United States, saying it could not negotiate while under fire from Israel. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Sunday they had struck sites used by Israeli warplanes for refuelling, in retaliation for the earlier Israeli strikes. The Guards in a statement vowed to respond "more fiercely and more broadly" if Israel keeps up its deadly campaign. Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels said they had launched several missiles at Israel in attacks that were "coordinated with the operations carried out by the Iranian military". The Israeli military said it had intercepted seven drones launched at the country within an hour on Sunday. Highlighting the global unease, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned against a "devastating war" with regional consequences, in a call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Ankara said. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Saturday that his country was deploying fighter jets and other "assets" to the Middle East "for contingency support", while he also urged de-escalation. burs-ami/ser
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
The Latest: Death toll grows as Israel and Iran trade attacks for third day
The death toll is growing as Israel and Iran exchanged missile attacks for a third consecutive day on Sunday, and Israel is warning that worse is to come. Israel targeted Iran's Defense Ministry headquarters in Tehran and sites it alleged were associated with Iran's nuclear program, while Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defenses and slammed into buildings deep inside Israel.
