[By Guancha Observer, Wang Shihua] Senior U.S. officials told The New York Times on June 22 that a day after American bombers launched a large-scale attack on three of Iran's nuclear facilities, they were still unclear about the actual status of Tehran's nuclear program.

The senior officials said it was too early to determine whether Iran still retained the capability to manufacture nuclear weapons because they were unsure about the whereabouts of Iran's near-weapons-grade uranium reserves.

On June 20, MAXER satellite images showed that a row of heavy trucks were lined up outside the Fordo nuclear facility on social media before the U.S. military strike.

In July 2015, Iran reached a comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue with the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany. According to the agreement, Iran promised to limit its nuclear program, with uranium enrichment not exceeding 3.67%, in exchange for the international community lifting sanctions against it. In May 2018, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the agreement and subsequently re-imposed and introduced a series of additional sanctions on Iran. Since May 2019, Iran has gradually ceased to implement parts of the agreement but has pledged that the measures taken are "reversible".

In 2022, the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization released a statement on its website saying that Iran had produced 60%-enriched uranium for the first time at the Fordow nuclear facility. Previously, the Natanz nuclear facility, which had also produced 60%-enriched uranium, continued relevant production activities.

According to previous reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran once possessed more than 1,300 pounds (600 kilograms) of 60%-enriched uranium hexafluoride. These nuclear materials are likely currently dispersed to unknown locations.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director of the United Nations nuclear watchdog IAEA, said he believed these weapons-grade uranium stocks had been moved. These weapons-grade uranium stocks were stored in special barrels, small enough to fit into approximately 10 car trunks.

According to two Israeli officials familiar with intelligence, there is evidence that Iran has recently been transferring equipment and uranium from this location. Satellite photos also show that a large number of trucks entered the Fordo nuclear facility before the U.S. air strike.

On June 22, U.S. Secretary of Defense Hackett and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces, Dan Kane, jointly attended a press conference to introduce details of the U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. The nuclear facilities attacked by the U.S. included two major uranium enrichment centers in Iran: the heavily guarded mountainous facility at Fordo and the uranium enrichment plant at Natanz.

This operation was codenamed "Midnight Hammer Operation" (Operation Midnight Hammer). He introduced that, in total, more than 125 aircraft participated in this operation, including B-2 bombers, refueling aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, and fighter jets. This unprecedented operation involved seven B-2 stealth bombers.

Dan Kane stated that these bombers dropped more than 12 massive bunker-busting bombs weighing 30,000 pounds (13.6 tons) each on the two nuclear facilities in Fordo and Natanz, Iran. The U.S. also simultaneously launched dozens of "Tomahawk" missiles at the Isfahan nuclear facility. During this time, there was also a "deception operation," where multiple bombers flew toward the Pacific to confuse outsiders.

Subsequently, commercial satellite companies released photos of the struck Iranian tunnels. The photos showed two rows of six craters on the ridge of the facility, each crater approximately 5 meters wide. This indicates that GBU-57 bunker-busting bombs indeed attacked the craters, but the extent of the damage is unknown.

Hossein Kermanpour, head of the Public Relations Department of the Iranian Ministry of Health, posted on social platforms stating that no injured persons treated in hospitals after the U.S. bombing were found to be contaminated with radiation.

This article is an exclusive contribution from Guancha Observer and cannot be reproduced without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7518968310178529818/

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