Latest news with #Fordo
New York Times
17-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
New Assessment Finds Site at Focus of U.S. Strikes in Iran Badly Damaged
Iran's deeply buried nuclear enrichment plant at Fordo was badly damaged, and potentially destroyed, by the 12 massive bombs that U.S. Air Force B-2 bombers dropped on it last month, according to a new American intelligence assessment. Two other nuclear sites targeted in the U.S. attacks were not as badly damaged, but facilities at the sites that would be key to fabricating a nuclear weapon were destroyed and could take years to rebuild, U.S. officials said. A senior Israeli official said last week that the strikes most likely did not eliminate the stockpile of near-bomb-grade fuel that could be used to produce upward of 10 nuclear weapons. But without the facilities to manufacture a weapon, U.S. officials insist, the fuel would be of little use even if the Iranians can dig it out of the rubble. The new assessment helps create a clearer picture of what the combined Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran achieved. The bombings deeply damaged Fordo — considered by the Iranians to be their best-protected and most advanced nuclear enrichment site — probably crippling Iran's ability to make nuclear fuel for years to come. Iran most likely still has a stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity, which is just below level that is usually used in nuclear weapons, U.S. and Israeli officials say. But the officials believe it is buried under rubble, and Israeli officials believe that only the stockpile at Iran's nuclear laboratory at Isfahan is accessible despite the strikes on it. The crucial question of how long the American strikes have set back either the overall Iranian nuclear program or Iran's ability to use its existing uranium to make a crude bomb continues to be debated within the U.S. government. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
I Still Think Trump Will Fire Jerome Powell
Should you desire a break from worrying about how the war will end that President Donald Trump started against Iran, consider worrying about how the war will end that Trump started against the Federal Reserve Board. In Iran, the targets were uranium enrichment and storage sites in Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan. At the Fed, the target is Jerome Powell. I predicted in April that Trump would fire Powell. At the time I wrote that Powell's firing was probably imminent; this turned out to be wrong. But I stated further that if not 'in the next day or two,' then Trump would fire Powell 'certainly before Powell's term ends in May 2026.' I still think that last part is correct. Trump is halfway there already. He promised earlier this month to nominate Powell's successor 'very soon,' which would be almost a year too early. As Louis Krauskopf of Reuters points out, 'The potential for a 'shadow' Fed chair … could sow confusion.' Trump's favored method is to gin up a crisis out of whole cloth to justify taking extreme action against the dysfunction he created. (War against Iran is a departure in that a genuine crisis existed before Trump exacerbated it.) If an early Fed chair nomination destabilizes markets, as Krauskopf predicts, then Trump can 'restore' stability by firing Powell. Would the Supreme Court let it happen? I think it would. In May, it issued a quickie emergency docket ruling that stated, outrageously, that even though it hadn't yet got around to hearing arguments about whether to overturn Humphrey's Executor v. United States (that's the 90-year-old ruling that bars presidents from firing at will top officials at independent agencies), the high court's majority fully expects to overturn it, so lower courts should quit treating Humphrey's Executor as precedent. In a minority dissent, Justices Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Sonia Sotomayor were appropriately appalled. The quickie ruling raised the question: What about the Fed, whose independence is also protected by Humphrey's Executor? The majority, in effect, promised to cobble together some legal rationale to keep the Fed independent because, you know, the Fed matters, for Christ's sake—the global economy depends on it, unlike the Federal Trade Commission and all those other regulatory agencies where deep-state armchair socialists thwart private enterprise for their own amusement. (That's a loose paraphrase, but it captures the subtext.) The high court was in effect telling the stock and bond markets: Not to worry. We got this. I have my doubts, not only because drawing a legal distinction between the Fed and other independent agencies will be difficult (since none really exists) but also because, if the court's sole interest is to calm markets, then the quickest solution, if Trump calls its bluff, is abject surrender. Should Trump precipitate a financial crisis by firing Powell in defiance of the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court can't calm the waters by giving Trump a fight. It can only do that by telling Trump: OK, fine, fire the Fed chair, it's not like we ever ruled that you couldn't in an honest-to-God nonemergency decision. How thoughtful of you, Mr. President, to select a replacement in advance. If Trump is holding all the cards here, he's also holding a lot of anger at Powell (who Trump himself made Fed chair eight years ago). It isn't just that Trump is expressing ever-greater hostility toward Powell on social media (e.g., 'He is truly one of the dumbest, and most destructive, people in Government'). It's that Powell is having an increasingly hard time disguising that the real reason he won't bring interest rates down is the president's own unpredictability in mismanaging the economy. 'Changes to trade, immigration, fiscal, and regulatory policies continue to evolve,' Powell said at last week's press conference, 'and their effects on the economy remain uncertain.' Translation: Trump keeps imposing arbitrary tariffs, sometimes removing them, sometimes not, and although the United States Court of International Trade has ruled this sociopath's invocation of emergency powers plainly illegal, an appeals court can't decide whether to let him get away with it. The tariffs are obviously inflationary. So is that Big Beautiful Bill of his, because it will double the budget deficit, and his immigration policies may be inflationary too, if they become extreme enough to create a labor shortage. More Powell: 'We may find ourselves in the challenging scenario in which our dual mandate goals are in tension.' Translation: 'This idiot's tariffs have the potential to increase inflation while also raising unemployment, something we haven't seen since the 1970s stagflation debacle. So it's really hard to know what the hell it is that we're supposed to do.' Powell presents all this as a simple matter of reading the data, but it isn't lost on anybody (least of all Trump) that that's a dodge. Trump thinks it's a dodge because he believes that Powell wants him to fail, because Trump is incapable of not taking anything personally. In fact, it's a dodge because the data is the market's attempts to parse exactly how crazy and self-destructive Trump is going to be. For the moment the stock market has embraced TACO, which stands for Trump Always Chickens Out, but that's wishful thinking, because although Trump frequently chickens out, there's no guarantee he will always do so, or do so in time. If you are the object of this sort of speculation, that's going to be hurtful—too hurtful to recognize as truth. Better to call the person who has to make decisions based on this speculation an idiot. As Paul Krugman points out in his Substack, Trump isn't wrong to point out that the European Central Bank is behaving quite differently, cutting rates while the Fed refuses to. If Trump weren't president, the Fed would likely be cutting rates too. But the fact that it isn't doesn't prove that Powell is a fool, or that he somehow has it in for the man who appointed him Fed chair. It shows that the European Central Bank doesn't have to contend with an unstable president of the United States. (Or rather, it doesn't have to contend with it as much as the Fed does.) Krugman further points out that although Scott Bessent predicted Trump's tariffs would minimize inflation by pushing up the value of the dollar, the opposite has happened. The dollar has lost value because the U.S. economy is seen as less stable. 'Trump's childish insults aren't going to make any difference,' Krugman writes, 'except possibly to make Powell even more cautious to avoid giving the impression that he can be bullied.' I would go further than that. Trump's childish insults deepen Powell's understanding that Trump is out of control and therefore fully capable of wrecking the economy. The result is a power struggle, sure, but it's also something more. It's an expression of condescension or contempt on Powell's part, because the only rational responses to Donald Trump's erratic behavior are condescension or contempt. While there's a lot of things Trump doesn't understand, he can smell condescension or contempt from a mile away, because people have treated him that way (deservedly!) his entire life. Thus, a vicious circle is set in motion. The more Trump behaves like an asshole, the more Powell doubts Trump's ability to manage the economy; the more Powell doubts Trump's ability to manage the economy, the more Trump will behave like an asshole. The only end point I see in this game is Trump firing Powell. I would very much like to be wrong.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel says Iran could reach enriched uranium at a nuclear site hit by US
WASHINGTON (AP) — Israel believes deeply buried stocks of enriched uranium at one Iranian nuclear facility hit by the U.S. military are potentially retrievable, a senior Israeli official said. And the agency that built the U.S. 'bunker buster' bombs dropped on two other nuclear sites said Thursday that it is still waiting for data to be able to determine if those munitions reached their targets. Both developments widen the views on the damage from last month's strikes, when the United States inserted itself in Israel's war in a bid to eliminate the threat of Iran developing a nuclear weapon. Iran says its program is peaceful. President Donald Trump is adamant that the U.S. strikes 'obliterated' the three Iranian nuclear facilities it targeted. International assessments and an initial U.S. intelligence assessment have been more measured, with the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency saying in a preliminary report that the strikes did significant damage to the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan sites, but did not destroy them. CIA Director John Ratcliffe has since told skeptical U.S. lawmakers that American military strikes destroyed Iran's lone metal conversion facility, a setback to the nuclear program that would take years to overcome, and that the intelligence community assessed that the vast majority of Iran's amassed enriched uranium likely remains buried under the rubble at Isfahan and Fordo. The White House didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment Thursday. Much of Iran's enriched uranium is believed deeply buried at the third site, Isfahan, the senior Israeli official said. The U.S. used B-2 stealth bombers to target the Fordo and Natanz sites. The official spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to share Israeli assessments that had not been made public. Israel believes Iran's enriched uranium was distributed in the three sites and had not been moved, the Israeli official said. Nuclear and nonproliferation experts have warned that Iranians could have moved the stockpiles somewhere safer as Israeli strikes pounded Iran last month and expectation grew that the U.S. military might join in. The enriched uranium at Isfahan could potentially be retrieved by Iranians but reaching it would take a very difficult recovery effort, the Israeli official said. Trump and other administration officials have rebuffed suggestions that the June 22 U.S. strikes did anything short of wiping out the nuclear sites. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said they were 'destroyed.' Two officials from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency, which spent decades designing the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs specifically to destroy Iran's facilities, said they still did not know yet if the munitions had reached the depths the bombs had been engineered for. Those officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide additional details on the bombs that had not been previously announced. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in an interview published Monday said the U.S. airstrikes so badly damaged his country's nuclear facilities that Iranian authorities still have not been able to access them to survey the destruction. Pezeshkian added in the interview with conservative American broadcaster Tucker Carlson that Iran would be willing to resume cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog but cannot yet commit to allowing its inspectors unfettered access to monitor the sites. 'We stand ready to have such supervision,' Pezeshkian said. 'Unfortunately, as a result of the United States' unlawful attacks against our nuclear centers and installations, many of the pieces of equipment and the facilities there have been severely damaged.' Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said late last month that the three Iranian sites with 'capabilities in terms of treatment, conversion and enrichment of uranium have been destroyed to an important degree.' But, he added, because capabilities remain, 'if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again.' He said assessing the full damage comes down to Iran allowing in inspectors. 'Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared, and there is nothing there,' Grossi said.
The Independent
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Israel says Iran could reach enriched uranium at a nuclear site hit by US
Israel believes deeply buried stocks of enriched uranium at one Iranian nuclear facility hit by the U.S. military are potentially retrievable, a senior Israeli official said. And the agency that built the U.S. 'bunker buster' bombs dropped on two other nuclear sites said Thursday that it is still waiting for data to be able to determine if those munitions reached their targets. Both developments widen the views on the damage from last month's strikes, when the United States inserted itself in Israel's war in a bid to eliminate the threat of Iran developing a nuclear weapon. Iran says its program is peaceful. President Donald Trump is adamant that the U.S. strikes 'obliterated' the three Iranian nuclear facilities it targeted. International assessments and an initial U.S. intelligence assessment have been more measured, with the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency saying in a preliminary report that the strikes did significant damage to the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan sites, but did not destroy them. CIA Director John Ratcliffe has since told skeptical U.S. lawmakers that American military strikes destroyed Iran's lone metal conversion facility, a setback to the nuclear program that would take years to overcome, and that the intelligence community assessed that the vast majority of Iran's amassed enriched uranium likely remains buried under the rubble at Isfahan and Fordo. The White House didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment Thursday. Much of Iran's enriched uranium is believed deeply buried at the third site, Isfahan, the senior Israeli official said. The U.S. used B-2 stealth bombers to target the Fordo and Natanz sites. The official spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to share Israeli assessments that had not been made public. Israel believes Iran's enriched uranium was distributed in the three sites and had not been moved, the Israeli official said. Nuclear and nonproliferation experts have warned that Iranians could have moved the stockpiles somewhere safer as Israeli strikes pounded Iran last month and expectation grew that the U.S. military might join in. The enriched uranium at Isfahan could potentially be retrieved by Iranians but reaching it would take a very difficult recovery effort, the Israeli official said. Trump and other administration officials have rebuffed suggestions that the June 22 U.S. strikes did anything short of wiping out the nuclear sites. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said they were 'destroyed.' Two officials from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency, which spent decades designing the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs specifically to destroy Iran's facilities, said they still did not know yet if the munitions had reached the depths the bombs had been engineered for. Those officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide additional details on the bombs that had not been previously announced. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in an interview published Monday said the U.S. airstrikes so badly damaged his country's nuclear facilities that Iranian authorities still have not been able to access them to survey the destruction. Pezeshkian added in the interview with conservative American broadcaster Tucker Carlson that Iran would be willing to resume cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog but cannot yet commit to allowing its inspectors unfettered access to monitor the sites. 'We stand ready to have such supervision,' Pezeshkian said. 'Unfortunately, as a result of the United States' unlawful attacks against our nuclear centers and installations, many of the pieces of equipment and the facilities there have been severely damaged.' Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said late last month that the three Iranian sites with 'capabilities in terms of treatment, conversion and enrichment of uranium have been destroyed to an important degree.' But, he added, because capabilities remain, 'if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again.' He said assessing the full damage comes down to Iran allowing in inspectors. 'Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared, and there is nothing there,' Grossi said.
Associated Press
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Israel says Iran could reach enriched uranium at a nuclear site hit by US
WASHINGTON (AP) — Israel believes deeply buried stocks of enriched uranium at one Iranian nuclear facility hit by the U.S. military are potentially retrievable, a senior Israeli official said. And the agency that built the U.S. 'bunker buster' bombs dropped on two other nuclear sites said Thursday that it is still waiting for data to be able to determine if those munitions reached their targets. Both developments widen the views on the damage from last month's strikes, when the United States inserted itself in Israel's war in a bid to eliminate the threat of Iran developing a nuclear weapon. Iran says its program is peaceful. President Donald Trump is adamant that the U.S. strikes 'obliterated' the three Iranian nuclear facilities it targeted. International assessments and an initial U.S. intelligence assessment have been more measured, with the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency saying in a preliminary report that the strikes did significant damage to the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan sites, but did not destroy them. CIA Director John Ratcliffe has since told skeptical U.S. lawmakers that American military strikes destroyed Iran's lone metal conversion facility, a setback to the nuclear program that would take years to overcome, and that the intelligence community assessed that the vast majority of Iran's amassed enriched uranium likely remains buried under the rubble at Isfahan and Fordo. The White House didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment Thursday. Much of Iran's enriched uranium is believed deeply buried at the third site, Isfahan, the senior Israeli official said. The U.S. used B-2 stealth bombers to target the Fordo and Natanz sites. The official spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to share Israeli assessments that had not been made public. Israel believes Iran's enriched uranium was distributed in the three sites and had not been moved, the Israeli official said. Nuclear and nonproliferation experts have warned that Iranians could have moved the stockpiles somewhere safer as Israeli strikes pounded Iran last month and expectation grew that the U.S. military might join in. The enriched uranium at Isfahan could potentially be retrieved by Iranians but reaching it would take a very difficult recovery effort, the Israeli official said. Trump and other administration officials have rebuffed suggestions that the June 22 U.S. strikes did anything short of wiping out the nuclear sites. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said they were 'destroyed.' Two officials from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency, which spent decades designing the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs specifically to destroy Iran's facilities, said they still did not know yet if the munitions had reached the depths the bombs had been engineered for. Those officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide additional details on the bombs that had not been previously announced. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in an interview published Monday said the U.S. airstrikes so badly damaged his country's nuclear facilities that Iranian authorities still have not been able to access them to survey the destruction. Pezeshkian added in the interview with conservative American broadcaster Tucker Carlson that Iran would be willing to resume cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog but cannot yet commit to allowing its inspectors unfettered access to monitor the sites. 'We stand ready to have such supervision,' Pezeshkian said. 'Unfortunately, as a result of the United States' unlawful attacks against our nuclear centers and installations, many of the pieces of equipment and the facilities there have been severely damaged.' Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said late last month that the three Iranian sites with 'capabilities in terms of treatment, conversion and enrichment of uranium have been destroyed to an important degree.' But, he added, because capabilities remain, 'if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again.' He said assessing the full damage comes down to Iran allowing in inspectors. 'Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared, and there is nothing there,' Grossi said.
