THE AMERICA ONE NEWS
Jun 26, 2025  |  
0
 | Remer,MN
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge.
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge and Reasoning Support for Fantasy Sports and Betting Enthusiasts.
back  
topic
Mike Brest


NextImg:Grossi: Centrifuges at Iran's Fordow 'no longer operational'

The centrifuges at Iran’s Fordow uranium enrichment plant are “no longer operational,” Rafael Grossi, the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog organization, said on Thursday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, known as the IAEA, has not yet been able to access the sites since the U.S. military’s strikes almost a week ago, nor have they gotten a response from Iranian leaders to the request, Grossi told Radio France Internationale in an interview.

Recommended Stories

But, they have been able to utilize satellite images, among other imagery, to inspect the damages and make assessments based on their prior knowledge of the areas.

“On the basis of satellite images, we can deduct quite precise conclusions on the consequences of the bombing,” Grossi said. “Given the power of these bombs and technical characteristics of the centrifuges, we do know that they are no longer operational, simply because of the vibration, which causes considerable, important physical damage.”

PETE HEGSETH EXCORIATES MEDIA FOR COVERAGE OF ASSESSMENT ON IRAN STRIKES

Centrifuges are machines used to enrich uranium by spinning uranium hexafluoride gas at high speeds.

The U.S. military carried out the bombings of the Fordow facility and two others, Natanz and Isfahan, during the unprecedented operation last weekend. The intelligence community is still evaluating the level of damage at each of the three facilities, but several U.S. officials have said the facilities were “obliterated.”

Grossi said the word “annihilated” was “too much” to describe the impact the facilities sustained, but noted they “suffered enormous damage.”

Iran told IAEA officials it intended to implement protective measures the day before the attack, he added. How much enriched uranium, if any, Iran was able to move before the U.S. strikes is one of the primary outstanding questions.

Several trucks were seen on satellite imagery at the Fordow facility two days beforehand.

DAN CAINE PRAISES OFFICERS WHO STARTED FORDOW OPERATION PLANNING 15 YEARS AGO

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said, “Of course we’re watching every single aspect,” when asked about whether the Pentagon was certain the enriched uranium, which is a key component in a nuclear weapon, was still at the facility at the time of the strike.

“There was no indication to the United States that any of that enriched uranium was moved prior to the strike from any of the sites,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday.

President Donald Trump also denied that those trucks were involved in the movement of nuclear equipment.

“The cars and small trucks at the site were those of concrete workers trying to cover up the top of the shafts. Nothing was taken out of facility. Would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move,” the president said.

Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on Thursday that the Iranians sought to use cement to cover three ventilation shafts at Fordow.

PENTAGON DETAILS B-2 MISSION ‘OPERATION MIDNIGHT HAMMER’ TARGETING IRANIAN NUCLEAR SITES

The first bomb the U.S. dropped on the facility targeted one of those vents, blowing off the cover, and the subsequent bombs were designed to follow upon the impact of the ones before it.

“Each weapon had a unique desired impact, angle, arrival, final heading, and a fuse setting,” Caine explained. “The fuse is effectively what tells the bomb when to function. A longer delay in a fuse, the deeper the weapon will penetrate and drive into the carpet.”

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Al Jazeera on Wednesday their facilities were “badly damaged” after “repeated” U.S. and Israeli attacks, while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei boasted of “victory” over them.