Non-profit Science International Security Institute (ISIS) It has been reported Iran had been strengthening its underground nuclear complex ahead of third-round nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration this weekend.
Iran has argued that it will not comply with the regime’s demands to halt all uranium enrichment. President Donald Trump said military action could be imminent if Iran makes a deal.
ISIS I said Satellite images showed that Iran had built a security perimeter around Mount Kolangazra, a mountain above two large underground tunnel complexes associated with the nearby Natanz nuclear facility. Large security perimeters, including road ratings and wall panels, separate a considerable chunk of mountains to limit access to complex entrances of the tunnel. The north side of the new boundary will combine with existing barriers around the Natantz facility.
ISIS pointed out that building new boundaries is not easy given the mountainous region. The walls appear to be supported by a network of trenches that can hold communications, camera surveillance, and light pole wiring.
The tunnel complex probably wasn’t fully operational, but ISIS was difficult to convey based on satellite photographs. One of the tunnels was originally built in 2007, and was inert from 2010 to 2020, revitalized five years ago. The other was built to replace an underground uranium centrifuge factory that was destroyed in the 2020 explosion.
ISIS noted that since 2007, Iran has not allowed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, to visit any of the tunnel complexes.
IAEA Director Rafael Grossi on Thursday I asked Iran clarifies the purpose of the tunnel and explains the creation of new security perimeters. He said Iran’s response was “not your business.”
Grossi expressed his support for Trump envoy Steve Witkov, who said he was optimistic that Iran could make a deal. However, on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio repetition The administration’s position that Iran must suspend all uranium enrichment.
“If Iran wants a private nuclear program, they can have it like many other countries, and that’s for them to import rich material,” Rubio said. Such arrangements are common in countries that legally require sub-arm nuclear materials.
“The core issues of enrichment itself cannot be negotiated,” replied Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragut.
Iranian delegation It’s arrived Both sides follow talks in Italy and Oman for the third round of nuclear negotiations on Saturday in Muscat, Oman explained As productive. This weekend’s discussion should be “technical” in nature.
The Iranian delegation includes Qasem Galibabadi. Kazem Gallibabadi failed to talks with the Biden administration to revive former President Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal. The US technical team is led by Michael Anton and will recently be appointed by President Donald Trump as head of the State Department’s policy plan.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had previously scoffed at the notion of negotiating with the Trump administration. It will be displayed He prepared his people to accept some sort of nuclear negotiation, chastising the hardline elements of his government for their unrelenting resistance to hitting the deal.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragci reportedly told Witkov last week that it would be difficult to achieve a comprehensive transaction within the 60-day time frame Trump envisaged, but provisional transactions could be made. Iran’s mission to the United Nations denied the accuracy of the report, but the US State Department declined to comment.
