The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Israel transferred an intelligence assessment to the United States indicating Iran moved thousands of enrichment centrifuges to tunnels under Mount Machush last fall, as part of Israeli efforts to persuade the Trump administration to renew strikes on Iran's nuclear program. The report says President Trump subsequently announced plans to strike the facility, which was not hit in earlier operations.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Israel shared an intelligence assessment with the United States showing Iran had moved thousands of uranium enrichment centrifuges to tunnels under Mount Machush last fall. The report, published hours after the same newspaper first broke the story, adds that the intelligence was transferred as part of an Israeli effort to convince the Trump administration to resume strikes on Iran's nuclear program. President Trump subsequently told the US military to plan a strike on the site, the report said.
The development follows a series of reports on the Mount Machush facility. As The Zioneer reported at 08:04, the WSJ initially reported that Israeli intelligence assessed the transfer had occurred. By 08:25, Israeli and US officials confirmed the move to multiple outlets. Trump earlier Tuesday threatened to 'reach the site' and destroy it. The new report clarifies the diplomatic context: Jerusalem sought to leverage the intelligence to restart US military action against Iran's nuclear infrastructure.
Mount Machush, a deeply buried site near Natanz, was not targeted in Operation Rising Lion or subsequent US strikes. Intelligence experts have long warned it could serve as a fallback enrichment facility. The WSJ report noted that the centrifuges were moved to protect them from attack and allow Iran to rebuild its nuclear program. The status of the centrifuges — whether they are operational — remains unclear.
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