Iran's Nuclear Program: The Key Sites

Infographic with a map of Iran showing nuclear sites, reactors and uranium mines. Sylvie HUSSON, Nalini LEPETIT-CHELLA, Sabrina BLANCHARD / AFP
Infographic with a map of Iran showing nuclear sites, reactors and uranium mines. Sylvie HUSSON, Nalini LEPETIT-CHELLA, Sabrina BLANCHARD / AFP
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Iran's Nuclear Program: The Key Sites

Infographic with a map of Iran showing nuclear sites, reactors and uranium mines. Sylvie HUSSON, Nalini LEPETIT-CHELLA, Sabrina BLANCHARD / AFP
Infographic with a map of Iran showing nuclear sites, reactors and uranium mines. Sylvie HUSSON, Nalini LEPETIT-CHELLA, Sabrina BLANCHARD / AFP

Before Israeli strikes on Friday, Washington and Tehran had held several rounds of talks on Iran's nuclear program, as concerns mounted about its rapid expansion.

Iran has significantly ramped up its nuclear program in recent years, after a landmark deal with world powers curbing its nuclear activities in exchange for sanction relief began to unravel in 2018 when the United States unilaterally withdrew, said AFP.

As of mid-May, Iran's total enriched uranium stockpile was estimated at 9,247.6 kilograms -- or more than 45 times the limit set out in the 2015 deal -- according to the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Among its stockpiles, Iran has an estimated 408.6 kilograms enriched to up to 60 percent -- just a short step from the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead.

The country now theoretically has enough near-weapons-grade material, if further refined, for about 10 nuclear bombs, according to the definition by the Vienna-based IAEA.

But Iran has always denied any ambition to develop nuclear weapons.

Below is a list of Iran's key nuclear sites, which are subject to regular inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog:

Uranium enrichment plants

Natanz

About 250 kilometers (150 miles) south of Tehran, Natanz is Iran's heavily bunkered main uranium enrichment site, whose existence was first revealed in 2002.

Natanz operates nearly 70 cascades of centrifuges at its two enrichment plants, one of which is underground. A cascade is a series of centrifuges -- machines used in the process of enriching uranium.

In April 2021, the site was damaged in an attack that Iran said was an act of sabotage by Israel.

On Friday, Israel's operation struck at the "heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment program", targeting the atomic facility in Natanz and nuclear scientists, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

IAEA head Rafael Grossi confirmed the Natanz site was "among targets".

Fordo

Secretly built in violation of United Nations resolutions under a mountain near the holy central city of Qom, Fordo was first publicly revealed in 2009.

Initially described as an "emergency" facility built underground to protect it from potential air attacks, Iran later indicated it was an enrichment plant capable of housing about 3,000 centrifuges.

In 2023, uranium particles enriched up to 83.7 percent were discovered at the Fordo plant, which Iran claimed were the product of "unintended fluctuations" during the enrichment process.

Uranium conversion and research reactors

Isfahan

At the uranium conversion facility at Isfahan in central Iran, raw mined uranium is processed into uranium tetrafluoride (UF4) and then into uranium hexafluoride (UF6), a feed gas for centrifuges.

The plant was industrially tested in 2004 upon its completion.

The Isfahan center also harbors a nuclear fuel fabrication facility, which was inaugurated in 2009 and produces low-enriched fuel for use in power plants.

In July 2022, Iran announced plans to construct a new research reactor there.

Arak

Work on the Arak heavy-water research reactor on the outskirts of the village of Khondab began in the 2000s, but was halted under the terms of the 2015 deal.

Iran has meanwhile informed the IAEA about its plans to commission the reactor by 2026.

The research reactor was officially intended to produce plutonium for medical research and the site includes a production plant for heavy water.

Tehran

The Tehran nuclear research center houses a reactor that was supplied by the United States in 1967 for the production of medical radioisotopes.

Nuclear power plant

Bushehr

Iran's only nuclear power plant in the southern port city of Bushehr was built by Russia and began operating at a lower capacity in 2011 before being plugged into the national power grid in 2012.

Russia continues to deliver nuclear fuel for the plant, which remains under IAEA control.

A German company began construction on the plant with a 1,000-megawatt nominal capacity until the project was halted in the wake of the 1979 Iranian revolution. Moscow later completed it.

Darkhovin and Sirik

Iran began construction in late 2022 on a 300-megawatt power plant in Darkhovin, in the country's southwest. In early 2024, it also began work in Sirik, in the Strait of Hormuz, on a new complex of four individual plants with a combined capacity of 5,000 megawatts.



Trump Administration Tells Embassies to Rein in Criticism of Foreign Elections

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes part in a meeting between President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes part in a meeting between President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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Trump Administration Tells Embassies to Rein in Criticism of Foreign Elections

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes part in a meeting between President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes part in a meeting between President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)

The State Department is pulling back from commenting on or criticizing elections overseas unless there is a clear and compelling US foreign policy interest in doing so.

In new guidance issued Thursday to all US embassies and consulates abroad, the department said that those outposts should refrain from issuing statements that invoke any particular ideology and that what they may say must be in line with President Donald Trump’s stated position that the US will respect the sovereignty of all foreign nations.

“Consistent with the administration’s emphasis on national sovereignty, the department will comment publicly on elections only when there is a clear and compelling US foreign policy interest to do so,” according to the cable, a copy of which was shared with The Associated Press.

The department has for decades issued statements highly critical of or questioning the legitimacy of certain elections, notably in authoritarian countries. That is changing as the Trump administration has emphasized an “America First” foreign policy approach centered on US interests.

“When it is appropriate to comment on a foreign election, our message should be brief, focused on congratulating the winning candidate, and, when appropriate, noting shared foreign policy interests,” the cable said.

The document, which was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and first reported by the Wall Street Journal, said “messages should avoid opining on the fairness or integrity of an electoral process, its legitimacy or the democratic values of the country in question.”

In the past, US commentary questioning or criticizing elections aboard often has come in support of findings from various election monitoring groups, such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe or US-based institutions such as the Carter Center, the National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute.

The department cable said that amplifying the findings of outside groups or denouncing electoral irregularities can only be done with permission from senior officials in Washington.