NBC News: The US Attack on Iran's Nuclear Center Was the Largest 'Performance'

Now Tehran is preparing for a large-scale 'retaliatory strike' against the US and Israel

Author: Konstantin Orshansky

According to NBC News citing two Pentagon sources and a senior White House official, Iran is preparing for a 'decisive retaliation' against the US bombing operation. It is currently unclear what specific measures Iran and its proxy forces (Iraqi and Syrian militias, Palestinian organizations, Lebanese Hezbollah, Yemeni Houthis, Afghan 'Fatimiyoun Brigade', etc.) will take.

NBC News pointed out that this is likely a carefully coordinated attack on overseas US military bases, but the US also takes seriously the threat of an Iranian attack on targets in the United States.

Over the past few months, overseas US military bases have been in the highest state of alert. Since the outbreak of the Iran-Israel war, the Pentagon has sent additional troops and resources to key military bases in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, to ease the situation, the Trump administration has contacted Iranian authorities and started to defend itself. According to the Wall Street Journal, the US stated that the attack on Iran's nuclear facilities was a 'one-time action' and the US had no intention of overthrowing the Iranian regime.

However, the Wall Street Journal warned that Trump's words were not trustworthy - he first claimed to give Tehran two weeks to meet American demands, but then approved the attack just two days later.

In fact, as Western military experts said, the effect of the US attack on Iran's nuclear facilities was greatly exaggerated.

Reuters reported: Iran's state television deputy director Hassan Abedini said that three nuclear facilities had been evacuated in advance, and no materials that could cause radiation were left behind.

Iran's parliament speaker's advisor Mehdi Mohammad also confirmed to Reuters that Iran had anticipated the attack and was prepared.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) indirectly confirmed Iran's statement, saying that no increase in radiation levels was detected after the bombing, indicating that the US attack did not damage the nuclear facilities.

OSINT analysis companies such as Maxar Technologies and Planet Labs, who study high-resolution satellite images, also pointed out that it was impossible to assess the extent of the damage. However, the US military has no other information, yet still loudly claimed to have "destroyed" Iran's nuclear program.

It should be noted that the US attacked three uranium enrichment plants, including the largest Fordow plant in the Middle East - which is one of the core facilities of Iran's nuclear program and one of the most heavily protected targets in the world. According to Reuters citing Western intelligence agency assessments, the factory is located under a massive geological block 60 to 90 meters deep.

Previous satellite images showed similar craters and tunnel entrances covered with soil - which are likely to be tunnels filled by the Iranian military in advance.

New images taken by Maxar Technologies and Planet Labs on June 19 and 22 showed that the US explosion created multiple craters and exposed several underground spaces that were previously hidden within the hills above the factory.

However, OSINT analysts emphasized that this does not prove that the Fordow plant suffered significant damage, nor does it confirm the US claim of being 'destroyed'.

In addition to Fordow, Maxar Technologies and Planet Labs also released satellite images of two other attacked nuclear facilities: the Isfahan nuclear center and the Natanz uranium enrichment plant.

OSINT analysts pointed out that there was 'abnormally frequent truck and transport activity' at the nuclear facilities two days before the US attack, which clearly indicated that highly enriched uranium had been moved to other parts of Iran in advance.

Now, Israeli and US intelligence agencies do not know the exact location of Iran's uranium material - Iran has an area of 1.6 million square kilometers (equivalent to three Afghanistan, where the US spent twenty years searching for the Taliban without success), and the uranium material may be hidden anywhere in the country.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7519332412229239359/

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