Has US destroyed Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities as claimed by Donald Trump? IAEA says...

Has the US really obliterated Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities as claimed by President Donald Trump? Have all the centrifuges been destroyed, all enriched Uranium snatched away from Tehran and all the equipment destroyed in the bombing carried out by the B-2 stealth jet Saturday? What about the technical know-how that the Islamic Republic has gathered over the years? Trump's announcement does not seem to answer many such questions that have been raised after the attack on Iran's nuclear facilities situated in Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow. 

Did Donald Trump achieve his objective?

Addressing a television address, Donald Trump said, "The strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.” He added, "Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity."  

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 2,976 spinning centrifuges were working at Fordow enrichment plant,  buried hundreds of metres deep in the mountains near Qom, in northwestern Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Air Force Chief Caine claimed in a press release that 14 “bunker buster” bombs were dropped from B-2 stealth bombers on at least two nuclear sites, including Fordow. Bunker buster bombs can penetrate about 18 59 feet of concrete or 200 feet of earth, which a conventional bomb cannot reach.

Has Iran evacuated enriched Uranium before attack?

However, Mehdi Mohammadi, an adviser to the Chairman of the Iranian Parliament, claimed that the Iranian authorities had evacuated the Fordow facility in advance anticipating the attack amid escalating tension with Israel. Taking to social media platform, he wrote on X, "Iran has been expecting strikes on Fordow for several days. This nuclear facility was evacuated, no irreversible damage was sustained during today’s attack

No radiation leak!

As far as the damages caused to the facilities at Natanz and Isfahan are considered, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said in a social media post, "Following the illegal US attack on the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites, field surveys and radiation systems data showed: No contamination recorded." It added further, "There is no danger to residents around these sites. Safety is in a stable state." The AEOI claimed that the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that no increase in off-site radiation levels has been reported. 

What did IAEA say?

Talking to journalists, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said, "At this time, no one, including the IAEA, is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage at Fordow. Given the explosive payload utilised and the extreme vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges, very significant damage is expected to have occurred." He added, "Iran has informed the IAEA that there was no increase in off-site radiation levels at all three sites. The situation at the other sites remains as I have described in my past updates, and the IAEA is not aware of any further attacks on Iran's nuclear sites since those on Sunday morning."

Can technical know-how be destroyed?

Besides, the technical know-how that the Islamic Republic has collected from a number of sources, sometimes clandestinely too, can not be destroyed. Though several senior nuclear scientists too have been killed in the Israeli attacks, it can not be denied that the technical knowledge of nuclear enrichment or other related things are intact with Iran. The attack can encourage Tehran to withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty and start its nuclear once again, this time clandestinely and illegally.