Israel-Hamas War
The Middle East is ready to burn once again. According to US intelligence agencies, Israel is now preparing to launch a massive attack on Iran's nuclear sites. Although no final decision has been taken yet, there is a huge debate going on in Washington about whether Israel will actually do this or not.
If an attack happens, it will be like rejecting the nuclear deal policy of US President Donald Trump, and can also start another war in the entire Middle East. Let us take this opportunity to know how many nuclear sites Iran has and is it really so easy to attack them and how much destruction can happen if an attack happens?
Iran has progressed uranium enrichment at a rapid pace. According to the IAEA, by March 2025, it had 275 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60%. It is just a matter of reaching 90% purity, and 6 nuclear bombs can be made from this. American officials claim that Iran can now make uranium enough for one bomb in just a week. Although it may take 1 to 1.5 years to make a real bomb, Israel is not willing to give up that much time.
According to a Reuters report, Iran has a network of several nuclear sites, some of which are hidden underground, making them more difficult to attack.
1. Natanz: This is Iran's core program for uranium enrichment. It includes a giant underground Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) and a Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP). About 13,000 centrifuges are working in the FEP, which are producing uranium up to 5% purity. Uranium with up to 60% purity is being produced in the PFEP.
2. Fordow: This base is built inside a mountain, which makes it difficult to damage it by bombing. More than 2,000 centrifuges are running here, many of which are advanced models like IR-6. Here also uranium is being made up to 60% purity.
3. Isfahan: There is a facility to convert uranium into hexafluoride. The machines to make centrifuges are also here, along with the equipment to make uranium metal, which is used to make the 'core' of the bomb.
4. Khondab: It was earlier called the Arak reactor. It is a heavy-water reactor capable of producing plutonium, which opens another path to the bomb. It was deactivated in the 2015 deal, but now Iran plans to start it by 2026.
5. Tehran and Bushehr: There is a nuclear research center in Tehran. Bushehr has Iran's only nuclear power plant, which is fueled by Russia and later the fuel is also taken back, which reduces the possibility of making a bomb.
If Israel attacks Iran's nuclear sites in Isfahan, Arak, Natanz and Bushehr, the common Iranian people may have to pay the price with their lives. A new study conducted by the University of Utah and the Omid Institute claims that such an attack could result in the death of 5,000 to 80,000 people.
According to the report, 3,000 to 10,000 people may die in the first attack, but the real devastation will begin later when millions of people affected by radiation will slowly move towards death. In Isfahan alone, 70,000 to 3 lakh people may die or be seriously injured. The most worrying thing is that there are no solid arrangements in Iran to deal with nuclear radiation. Research says that if an attack happens, this accident will become like the biggest human crises in history like Bhopal gas tragedy and Chernobyl.
Israel certainly has the capability to carry out precise airstrikes, but attacking Iran's nuclear sites is not an easy task. According to a BBC report, most of the sites are hidden underground and can only be targeted with bunker-busting bombs. The US has such bombs, but it is not known whether Israel has them.
And if there is an attack, Iran will not sit quiet either. Missiles can rain down on American bases, American troops stationed in Gulf countries can be in danger, and Israeli cities will be directly targeted. Countries like Qatar, where America has its largest airbase, may not openly support such an operation.
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