New satellite imagery shows recent activity at the Natanz nuclear facility that was damaged during June's 12-day war with Israel, according to the US-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS).
During the June conflict, the IAEA confirmed Israeli strikes hit Iran's Natanz underground enrichment plant.
The think tank said the satellite imagery from December 13 show panels placed on top of the remaining anti-drone structure at the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP), providing cover for the damaged facility.
It suggested the new covering allows Iran to examine or retrieve materials from the rubble while limiting external observation.
The Natanz uranium enrichment facility, located some 250 km south of the Iranian capital Tehran, is one of Iran's most important and most controversial nuclear facilities in the Middle East.
Although the facility “likely held several kilograms of highly enriched uranium,” ISIS stressed that such material is “not negligible” in the broader context of Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
While PFEP shows renewed activity, ISIS said it has not observed similar signs at other major nuclear sites, including the underground Fordow facility also damaged in June by airstrikes.
Inspections
On December 15, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has reiterated that Iran must allow inspectors access to the three key nuclear facilities that enrich uranium and were hit by the US and Israeli airstrikes last June.
Speaking to RIA Novosti, Grossi said the agency’s activities in Iran are very limited. “We are only allowed to access sites that were not hit.”
In October, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog told AP that Iran does not appear to be actively enriching uranium but that the agency has recently detected renewed movement at the country’s nuclear sites.
Grossi said that despite being unable to fully access Iranian nuclear sites, inspectors have not seen any activity via satellite to indicate that Tehran has accelerated its production of uranium enriched beyond what it had compiled before the 12-day war with Israel in June.
“However, the nuclear material enriched at 60% is still in Iran,” Grossi said in an interview at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
“And this is one of the points we are discussing because we need to go back there and to confirm that the material is there and it’s not being diverted to any other use,” he added, “This is very, very important.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on December 8 that resuming the agency’s inspections is currently not possible because “there is no protocol or guideline” for inspecting facilities he described as “peaceful.”
ISIS reported on October 3 that new satellite imagery shows that Iran is ongoing construction efforts at a mountainous area just south of the Natanz enrichment site known as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, or Pickaxe Mountain.
On Sept. 26, The Washington Post said according to a review of satellite imagery and independent analysis, Iran has increased construction at a mysterious underground site in the months since the US and Israel pummeled its main nuclear facilities, suggesting Tehran has not entirely ceased work on its suspected weapons program and may be cautiously rebuilding.
