Journalist Doron Kadosh (N13/Army Radio) reports that the underground Mount Machush facility near Natanz contains not just centrifuges but all components needed for a full enrichment plant. Iran is ready to activate the site but it remains inactive. Kadosh cites an Israeli assessment warning that introducing enriched uranium would be a 'bright red line' requiring U.S. action, as it would enable 90% military-grade enrichment. The assessment holds that current U.S. capabilities can neutralize the facility but not fully destroy it.
A new report from journalist Doron Kadosh (N13/Army Radio) provides the most detailed description yet of Iran's underground Mount Machush facility near Natanz. The site, buried 80–100 meters underground, has been the subject of Israeli and U.S. concern since satellite imagery revealed construction activity in early July.
As The Zioneer reported earlier today (09:36 Jerusalem), Israeli security sources disclosed that the facility contains centrifuges and all necessary components for a complete enrichment process. Kadosh's report now specifies that the site includes 'all components needed to establish a full enrichment plant,' not merely centrifuges, and that Iran is prepared to activate it but has not yet done so.
The assessment cited by Kadosh warns that introducing enriched uranium into the facility would constitute a 'bright red line' demanding U.S. military action, since it would allow Tehran to enrich to 90% weapons-grade. The Israeli assessment is that current U.S. capabilities can neutralize the facility—preventing its operation—but cannot fully destroy the hardened underground site. The report does not specify whether the U.S. shares this assessment.
The Mount Machush site has been a focal point since late June, when reports emerged that Iran had transferred thousands of centrifuges there following Operation Rising Lion. The facility has been formally included in the U.S. military's target bank, according to previous reports.
2 developments
- StrongSatellite imagery reveals construction activity at Iran's secret underground nuclear facility near Natanz
- StrongAnalysis: Iran's Mount Makush nuclear facility deeper than Fordow, US reportedly plans phased strike on access routes
- StrongIsraeli assessment: Iran's enriched uranium entombed in attacked Isfahan tunnels, Fordow ruins
- StrongIsraeli defense establishment on highest alert in months amid talk of US strikes on Iran's Har HaMachosh
Source and signal
- Internal intake