A day after Iran revealed its new advanced uranium centrifuges, the underground Natanz nuclear facility was hit by a “terrorist act.” This latest incident happens as there have been diplomatic efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which was abandoned under the Trump administration. The problem present here is that Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated new centrifuges at the Natanz site, which is the key factor in producing enriched uranium. Centrifuges are what is needed to produce enriched uranium, which can be used to make reactor fuel but also material for nuclear weapons. The nuclear deal from 2015 only allows Iran to produce and store limited quantities of uranium enrichment up to 3.67% concentration. Recently, Iran has accelerated the breaches to this deal in an attempt to put pressure on the US, which has included operating advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium, making the enrichment up to 20% concentration, and stockpiling materials. So, the “terrorist act” that occurred was assumed to be a cyber operation and invasion possibly tied to Israel. With Iran progressing towards nuclear weapons capability, a defense analyst stated that it is “reasonable to assume that the problem... might not have been caused by an accident, but by deliberate sabotage intended to slow the nuclear race accelerated by the negotiations with the US on removing sanctions".
Reese McMullen
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