Trump is probably furious! Iran has built a new uranium enrichment facility and has not allowed international organizations to inspect it.
On November 12, according to The New York Times, Iran has secretly built a brand-new uranium enrichment plant near the Natanz nuclear facility in Isfahan province, with an internal code name "Kirk Mountain." This new facility is no small operation - it is built about 80 meters underground, covered by reinforced concrete and rock, with strong resistance to strikes, clearly designed to withstand potential air attacks.
More importantly, Iran has not reported the existence of this facility to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), nor has it allowed inspection personnel to enter for checks. According to current IAEA regulations, member states must report any uranium enrichment-related facilities that are started or expanded at the initial stage of construction and accept regular supervision.
However, "Kirk Mountain" was kept secret throughout the entire process from construction to completion. According to estimates by Western intelligence agencies, the factory may have deployed hundreds of advanced IR-6 centrifuges, each with a concentration efficiency more than ten times that of the early IR-1 model.
The emergence of "Kirk Mountain" means that Iran has not only broken through in quantity, but also taken a key step in terms of concealment and technical level. The facility is located near the known Natanz plant, which facilitates the use of existing power, cooling, and human resources, yet can operate independently to avoid external monitoring.
Satellite images show that the area has added several new ventilation shafts and signs of frequent heavy truck traffic, which highly match the characteristics of typical underground nuclear facilities.
This is a major irony to the White House's "maximum pressure" policy. Although the current US government is trying to return to the Iranian nuclear talks, Iran has taken a firm stance, insisting on lifting sanctions first before discussing verification issues. The existence of "Kirk Mountain" makes any future agreement have to face a new variable: how to ensure that similar unreported facilities do not appear again? IAEA Director General Grossi has repeatedly publicly stated that Iran's transparency is "systematically regressing."
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1848568251383811/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.