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Latest satellite images confirm Iran now expanding its Fordow site after US bombings
Latest satellite images show Iran might be working to expand the Fordow nuclear facility days after the site was targeted by US B-2 stealth bombers. Images released by Maxar Technologies reveal that heavy machinery has been moved into the site, and signs of additional earthwork are visible.
There are signs that tunnel entrances may have been deliberately sealed off before the US bombers dropped Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs) on the underground site.
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Fordow was among the three nuclear sites that US bombers targeted overnight on June 21–22 under Operation Midnight Hammer.
Now, signs of 'fresh earth movement,' including new access roads and clusters of crater zones are visible at the Fordow site.
Significance
The US administration has claimed that the bombings ' obliterated ' the underground facility at Fordow; however, satellite images indicate Iran may have already moved enriched uranium 'to a safe location'.
An analysis by the Open Source Centre in London also suggested that visuals show that Iran may have been preparing the site for a strike. However, it is unclear exactly what, if anything, was removed from the facility.
What do the new images reveal?
In recent imagery, earth-moving equipment is visible near the northern tunnel complex. Bulldozers are shifting soil around a ridgeline crater, with new access paths evident.
Imagery from June 19-20 showed several bulldozers and trucks near the tunnel entrance, likely part of an effort to block or reinforce access points.
In the new images, the entrances appear filled with dirt, and debris from MOP impacts is noticeable in several areas.
Can Iran still build a nuclear bomb?
With the high probability that Iran has moved its stockpile of enriched uranium elsewhere, there are chances that the nation could build a nuclear weapon.
However, Ronen Solomon, an Israeli intelligence analyst, told The Telegraph that even if Iran had moved its uranium, it would be 'like having fuel without a car', adding: 'They have the uranium, but they can't do a lot with it unless they have built something we don't know about on a small scale.'
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