Israel says struck to 'obstruct access routes' to Iran's Fordo

Israel says struck to 'obstruct access routes' to Iran's Fordo
by AFP Staff Writers
Jerusalem (AFP) June 23, 2025

The Israeli military said it had launched air raids Monday to block access to Iran's enriched uranium facility in Fordo which was bombed by the United States at the weekend.

A military statement said Israeli forces had "struck in order to obstruct access routes to the Fordo enrichment site" which US President Donald Trump said had been "totally obliterated" by the US strikes.

There has been speculation that Iran might have moved out some of its known 400-kilogramme stockpile of highly enriched uranium before the US bombing of its storage sites in the early hours of Sunday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, which has been monitoring Iran's nuclear programme, called earlier Monday for access to the Islamic republic's nuclear sites to "account for" the uranium.

"There needs to be a cessation of hostilities for the necessary safety and security conditions to prevail so that Iran can let IAEA teams into the sites to assess the situation," the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said.

Speaking to an emergency meeting of the organisation's board of governors in Vienna, he said that "at this time, no-one including the IAEA, is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage at Fordo."

Asked about the location of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile on Sunday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had "interesting intelligence" but declined to elaborate.

"We're following that," he told reporters. "We've been following it very closely... we have interesting intelligence on that which you'll excuse me if I don't share with you."

According to the IAEA, Iran had enriched uranium to 60 percent in 2021, a short step from the 90 percent required for use in a weapon.

Israel has maintained ambiguity about its own atomic arsenal, neither officially confirming nor denying it exists, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has estimated it has 90 nuclear warheads.

Israel attacks Iran's Fordo nuclear site: Iranian media
Tehran (AFP) June 23, 2025 - Israel carried out a fresh strike on Iran's underground Fordo nuclear site south of Tehran, a media outlet in the country reported.

"The aggressor attacked the Fordo nuclear site again," Tasnim news agency reported, quoting a spokesperson for the crisis management authority in Qom province where the site is located.

The latest attacks come a day after the United States launched unprecedented strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities including Fordo and sites at Isfahan and Natanz.

US President Donald Trump said the strikes had "obliterated" Iran's nuclear capabilities, but other officials said it was too soon to assess the true impact on Iran's nuclear programme.

Iran condemned the attack and vowed retaliation, noting there were "no signs of contamination" after the US strikes.

The US strikes came around 10 days after Israel launched an attack on Iran killing nuclear scientists, top military commanders as well as striking military bases, nuclear sites and residential areas across the country.

IAEA seeks access to Iran nuclear sites to 'account for' highly enriched uranium stockpiles
Vienna (AFP) June 23, 2025 - The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog on Monday called for its inspectors to be able to return to Iran's nuclear sites in a bid to "account for" its highly enriched uranium stockpiles.

He called for a cessation of hostilities.

The request follows attacks by Israel and the United States on Iran's nuclear facilities.

"Iran, Israel and the Middle East need peace," Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the organisation's board of governors in Vienna.

"For that, we must take a number of steps," he said.

"First of all, we must return to the negotiating table and for that allow IAEA inspectors -- the guardians on our behalf of the NPT (nuclear non-proliferation treaty) -- to go back to Iran's nuclear sites and account for the stockpiles of uranium, including, most importantly, the 400 kilogrammes enriched to 60 percent."

Grossi said Tehran had sent him a letter on June 13 announcing the implementation of "special measures to protect nuclear equipment and materials".

"There needs to be a cessation of hostilities for the necessary safety and security conditions to prevail so that Iran can let IAEA teams into the sites to assess the situation," he said.

Over the weekend, the United States struck three Iranian nuclear sites, joining Israel's bombardments of Iran's nuclear programme.

"Craters are now visible at the Fordo site, Iran's main facility for enriching uranium at 60 percent, indicating the use of ground-penetrating munitions," he said.

He added that "very significant damage" is expected to have occurred for the US bombing "given the explosive payload utilised and the extreme vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges".

"At this time, no-one including the IAEA, is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage at Fordo," he said.

The US strikes came after Israel began launching large-scale attacks on Iran on June 13 targeting its missile and nuclear facilities, military leaders and security services, and residential sites.

Iran's uranium enrichment has for decades caused tension, with Western powers voicing fears the drive is aimed at making an atomic bomb, a claim denied by Tehran.

European powers have urged Tehran to revive diplomatic efforts with the United States to find a solution in the standoff over its nuclear programme.

Iran has said it can only consider diplomacy once Israel halts its bombardment of the Islamic republic.