Iran has reportedly begun construction at its underground nuclear facility in Fordow according to newly released satellite images – a site long-suspected to have military purpose.
The unknown construction has not been publicly acknowledged by Iran and is likely to represent an additional Iranian breach of the faltering JCPOA nuclear deal. Iran had already announced it had resumed uranium enrichment at Fordow – a clear breach of the 2015 deal. Iran had previously run a clandestine nuclear operation at the Fordow facility, which was only discovered by the West in 2009.
The revelation follows comments this week from the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, who raised concerns about the viability of rolling back Iran’s nuclear violations in order for it to return to compliance with the JCPOA – a key hope of the incoming Biden administration.
The head of the UN atomic watchdog stated: “I cannot imagine that they are going simply to say, ‘We are back to square one’ because square one is no longer there”. He foresaw the need for a “a protocol or an agreement or an understanding or some ancillary document which will stipulate clearly what we do”, in order to ensure Iran rolls its actions back.
Mr Grossi emphasised Iran’s non-compliance: “There is more [nuclear] material… there is more activity, there are more centrifuges, and more are being announced. So, what happens with all this? This is the question for them at the political level to decide”.
The Fordow construction, which reportedly began in September ahead of the October-expiration of a UN arms embargo on Iran, adds to existing international concern over Iran’s building at its separate Natanz nuclear facility.
Satellite images obtained from Maxar Technologies by the Associated Press show the construction taking place at a northwest corner of the Fordow site, near the holy Shiite city of Qom some 50 miles southwest of Tehran. An image dated December 11, appears to show a dug foundation for a building with dozens of pillars.
The construction is believed to be taking place alongside existing buildings linked to nuclear R&D, including Iran’s National Vacuum Technology Center, which specialises in technology crucial to Iran’s uranium-gas centrifuges, which enrich uranium.
Iran has continued to breach many of the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, including enriching uranium at levels higher than the permitted 3.67% and some experts believe that Iran now has enough low-enriched uranium stockpiled for at least two nuclear weapons, if it chose to pursue them.
Iran’s parliament recently passed a bill that requires Tehran to enrich up to 20%, a short technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. The bill also would deny IAEA inspectors access to Iran’s nuclear facilities – a critical aspect of the JCPOA deal.
