Reuters Report: Which Nuclear Facilities of the Islamic Republic Could Be Potential Targets for Israel?

Following the Islamic Republic's missile attack on Israel on Tuesday, October 1, there is speculation that Israel may target the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities in various locations across Iran, given its threats. Reuters reported on the main and known nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic, stating that the nuclear program is dispersed across different parts of Iran, and despite the threat of Israeli airstrikes in recent decades, some nuclear facilities have been built underground. According to Reuters, Natanz, Fordow, Isfahan, Khondab, Tehran, and Bushehr are the main known nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic, each with different capabilities and facilities that are of great importance to Iran's nuclear program. Natanz is a significant part of the Islamic Republic's enrichment program, located in an open plain in Isfahan province. Natanz has facilities including the massive underground Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) and the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP). An Iranian opposition group outside Iran, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, revealed in 2002 that the Iranian government was secretly constructing facilities in Natanz, which led to a diplomatic deadlock between the West and Iran over the country's nuclear goals that continues to this day. The FEP is designed for commercial-scale enrichment and can house up to 50,000 centrifuges. Currently, about 14,000 centrifuges are installed in Natanz, with nearly 11,000 active, producing uranium with a purity of five percent. According to informed diplomats, the FEP in Natanz is located about three stories underground, making airstrikes difficult. However, the centrifuges stationed at the FEP in Natanz have been damaged in other ways, including explosions and power outages in 2021, which the Islamic Republic claims were due to an Israeli attack. The PFEP in Natanz is above ground and has only a few hundred centrifuges, but uranium enrichment to 60 percent is conducted there. Fordow, built inside a mountain between Tehran and Qom, has greater protection against a potential airstrike. Following an agreement between the Islamic Republic and Western powers, Tehran was prohibited from any enrichment at Fordow. Currently, more than a thousand centrifuges are active at Fordow, some of which are advanced IR-6 machines producing 60 percent enriched uranium. The Islamic Republic has recently doubled the number of installed centrifuges at Fordow, with all new centrifuges being IR-6 machines. The U.S., U.K., and France announced in 2009 that the Islamic Republic had been secretly constructing Fordow for years without the knowledge of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Barack Obama, the then U.S. President, stated that the size and characteristics of this nuclear facility were 'inconsistent' with a peaceful program. Isfahan is a large nuclear technology center located in the suburbs of Isfahan, Iran's second-largest city. This center includes a Fuel Plate Fabrication Plant (FPFP) and Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF), which can convert uranium into uranium hexafluoride that is fed into centrifuges. Equipment exists in Isfahan for uranium metal fabrication, a process particularly essential for producing nuclear weapons, as it can be used in bomb construction. The IAEA has stated that there are devices for manufacturing centrifuge components in Isfahan, describing it as a 'new site' in 2022. Khondab is a semi-completed heavy water research reactor initially named Arak. Heavy water reactors can produce plutonium, which can also be used in nuclear bomb construction, similar to enriched uranium. According to Tehran's agreement with Western powers, the construction and completion of this project were halted, the reactor core was removed, and filled with concrete to render it unusable. This reactor was supposed to be redesigned 'to minimize plutonium production and not for producing weapons-grade plutonium under normal conditions.' The Islamic Republic has informed the IAEA that it intends to activate this reactor in 2026. This center includes a research reactor. Bushehr is the only active nuclear power plant of the Islamic Republic on the shores of the Persian Gulf, using Russian fuel, which is returned by the Russians after use, reducing the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation. Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, stated on the evening of Wednesday, October 2, that the Israeli war cabinet is considering its options for responding to the Islamic Republic's missile attack, and 'Israel's retaliatory response' will occur soon. The Islamic Republic launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles in the missile attack on Israel on Tuesday, which was the second and largest direct attack by the Iranian government on that country. Danny Danon told CNN, 'What happened was an unprecedented act, and as I said in the Security Council, our response will be soon, very strong, and painful.' The U.S. and Israel described this missile attack as ineffective and neutralized. According to published reports, the damage was very limited, and Israel stated that there were no casualties from these attacks. According to the report, the U.S. and the IAEA, affiliated with the United Nations, believe that the Islamic Republic halted its secret nuclear weapons program in 2003. In 2015, the Islamic Republic agreed to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions in an agreement with global powers. This agreement fell apart after Donald Trump, the former U.S. President, withdrew from it in 2018, and the Islamic Republic gradually lifted the imposed restrictions. Since then, the Islamic Republic has expanded its uranium enrichment program and reduced the time required to produce sufficient weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear bomb from at least a year to a few weeks. However, building a nuclear bomb requires more time, which cannot be precisely predicted. According to the IAEA, the Islamic Republic is now enriching uranium to 60 percent, close to the 90 percent needed for nuclear weapons, and if further enriched, could produce at least four nuclear bombs. Meanwhile, the restrictions against some IAEA inspectors imposed by the Iranian government last year faced severe condemnation from the IAEA. The agency referred to this new prohibition as an 'unprecedented' action and described it as 'a very serious blow' to its ability to conduct meaningful inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities. Following this, the IAEA Board of Governors, consisting of 35 countries, issued a resolution calling for increased cooperation from the Islamic Republic with the agency and the lifting of access restrictions for its inspectors. Israeli Ambassador to the UN: Our response to the Islamic Republic will be 'painful'. 'Washington, alongside Israel, is considering how to respond to Tehran's attack.' The U.S. called for a 'unified stance' from the Security Council against the Islamic Republic's attack on Israel. Speculations about a powerful Israeli response to the Islamic Republic's attack. Joe Biden: Israel's response to the Islamic Republic's attack should be 'proportional'. Military experts: The recent attack on Israel was more complex and advanced than the previous one.