Air strikes on Iran’s Parchin complex hamper nuclear bomb development

On By Littum

The Israeli attack in late October on Iran’s military complex in Parchin severely hampered Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear bomb, should it choose to do so, according to two senior Israeli officials.

The sophisticated equipment destroyed in the attack was essential for shaping and testing plastic explosives that encase uranium in a nuclear device, essential for setting off a nuclear chain reaction. This equipment was previously used by Iran before it froze its military nuclear program in 2003.

Over the past year, Iran has resumed research related to nuclear weapons, according to U.S. and Israeli officials, although it has not taken concrete steps toward building a nuclear bomb. The Israeli officials noted that if Iran decides to develop nuclear weapons, it will be necessary to replace the destroyed equipment.

They believe that Israeli or US intelligence is likely to detect any attempt by Iran to build or acquire such machines. “This equipment is a bottleneck. The Iranians are stuck without it,” said a senior Israeli official.

The Taleghan 2 facility in the Parchin military complex was used before 2003 to test explosives needed for a nuclear device. This activity was halted when Iran suspended its military nuclear program. In addition, the destroyed equipment had been stored at the site since at least 2003, Israeli officials said.

A satellite image shows the Khojir rocket engine casting facility, in the aftermath of what a US scientist said was an Israeli airstrike that hit a building that was part of Iran’s defunct nuclear weapons development program, near Tehran, Iran October 26, 2024. (credit: Planet Labs Inc/distribution via REUTERS)

US and Israeli officials reported that Iran resumed scientific activities in the past year that could serve as a basis for developing nuclear weapons, although these could also be presented as civilian research. “They were doing scientific work that could lay the groundwork for the production of nuclear weapons. It was top secret, known only to a small part of the Iranian government,” a US official said.

Attack disrupts Iran’s nuclear progress

The destroyed equipment at Taleghan 2 was reportedly not used for these research activities, but would be critical in future phases if Iran decided to build a nuclear bomb. “This is equipment that the Iranians would need if they wanted to move towards a nuclear bomb. Now they don’t have it, and it won’t be easy to find an alternative. We would see such an effort,” a senior official explained Israeli official. .

When Israel planned a retaliatory strike after Iran’s massive missile attack on October 1, Israel chose the Taleghan 2 facility as a target. President Biden asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to target Iranian nuclear facilities to avoid sparking a war with Iran, according to US officials. But since Taleghan 2 was not part of Iran’s declared nuclear program, Tehran could not acknowledge its existence or the damage it caused without admitting to violating the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

“The attack sent a not-so-subtle message that Israel has significant access to what goes on in the Iranian system, even with activities that are kept secret and known only to a very small group in the Iranian government,” noted an American official.