Vienna (Reuters)-The head of the UN nuclear surveillance body, Rafael Grossi, identified this Thursday Isfahan, where is one of the largest nuclear facilities in Iran, such as the site of an uranium enrichment plant that Iran said would soon put in operation in retaliation against diplomatic pressure against the country.
One day before Israel launched its military attacks against Iranian targets, including nuclear facilities last Friday, Iran announced that it had built a new uranium enrichment installation, which would soon be equipped and placed in operation. Tehran did not provide details such as the location of the plant.
Iran’s announcement was part of its retaliation against a resolution approved by the Board of Directors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, consisting of 35 countries, which stated that Tehran violated their non-propelling obligations for reasons that included their inability to accredit the traces of uranium in unheard of places.
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If it had been operating, the new enrichment plant would have been the fourth in operation in Iran. However, Israel’s attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities destroyed one of these plants and placed another out -of -action plant by interrupting their power supply, according to AIEA.
“There was a deal, very coincidentally, on the eve of the beginning of Israel’s military operation of a new Isfahan enrichment installation, precisely, that we would immediately inspect, but this inspection had to be postponed … Because of the beginning of military operation,” said Grossi.
He did not say where exactly was the planned plant in Isfahan, but said the nuclear complex there is “huge.”
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The AIEA previously reported that Israeli military attacks on Friday damaged four buildings in Isfahan, including the uranium conversion installation, which transforms yellowcake uranium hexafluoride uranium to centrifugal uranium so that it can be enriched.
Grossi told the BBC on Monday that “underground spaces” in Isfahan do not seem to have been affected. Authorities say these areas are also where much of Iran’s highly enriched uranium inventory has been stored.
The AIEA, however, has not been able to perform any inspection since the attacks.
