Iran pledges openness on any ‘new activities’ at nuclear plants
Statement follows report about new tunnels near nuclear enrichment facility
The head of Iran’s nuclear programme insisted yesterday that his government would cooperate with international inspectors on any “new activities.” His statement followed a report about Tehran’s new underground tunnel system near a nuclear enrichment facility.
Reports outlined this week how, deep inside a mountain, the new tunnels near the Natanz facility are likely beyond the range of a last-ditch US weapon designed to destroy such sites.
The report sparked wider conversation across the Middle East about the construction, with Israel’s national security adviser saying on Tuesday that the site would not be immune from attack even if its depth put it out of range of American airstrikes.
Speaking to journalists yesterday after a Cabinet meeting, Mohammad Eslami of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran sought to describe the interest in the site as a case of Israel feeling pressured.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is working under the IAEA safeguards, and whenever wants to start new activities, it will coordinate with the IAEA, and acts accordingly,” Eslami said, using an acronym for the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Sticking point
The IAEA did not respond to questions from the AP about the construction at Natanz, about 225 km south of Tehran. Natanz has been a point of international concern since its existence became known two decades ago.
Satellite photographs of the piles of dirt from the digging
and experts who spoke to the AP suggest the new tunnels will be between 80 metres and 100 metres deep.
Such underground facilities led the US to create the GBU57 bomb, which can plough through at least 60 metres of earth before detonating, according to the American military.
With such bombs potentially off the table, the US and its allies are left with fewer options to target the site. If diplomacy remains stalled as it has for months over Iran’s tattered nuclear deal, sabotage attacks may resume.