Iran’s Key Nuclear Facilities and Their Distribution Model
Iran’s Key Nuclear Facilities and Their Distribution Model
Iran has several key facilities related to its nuclear program that have marked the rapid advancement of the Islamic Republic in this field and are now the subject of several rounds of negotiations with the United States. These facilities, scattered across the country including one in the heart of Tehran, demonstrate the breadth and history of Iran’s nuclear program.
One of them, in particular, is the uranium enrichment facility in Natanz, which has been targeted multiple times in sabotage operations attributed to Israel. The Associated Press has taken a look at some of Iran’s important facilities and their significance in its nuclear program.
Natanz Enrichment Facility
The Natanz nuclear facility, located 220 kilometers southeast of Tehran, is Iran’s main uranium enrichment site.
Part of this facility is built underground in Iran’s central plateau to withstand potential air attacks. Several cascades or groups of centrifuges are employed here to enrich uranium more rapidly.
Iran is also tunneling into the Kolang Gazla mountain, which is right behind the southern fence of Natanz.
The Natanz facility was targeted by the Stuxnet virus, believed to have been created by Israel and the United States, which destroyed Iran’s centrifuges.
This facility has also been the target of two separate sabotage attacks attributed to Israel.
Fordow Enrichment Facility
The Fordow nuclear facility is located about 100 kilometers southwest of Tehran. This site also hosts cascades of centrifuges for uranium enrichment but is not as large as Natanz.
Fordow, buried under a mountain and protected by anti-aircraft defenses, seems designed to withstand air attacks.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the construction of this facility began at least in 2007, although Iran informed the agency of its existence in 2009 after it was discovered by the United States and Western intelligence agencies.
Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant
Iran’s only commercial nuclear power plant is located in Bushehr on the Persian Gulf, about 750 kilometers south of Tehran. Construction of this plant began during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah in the mid-1970s. The facility was targeted multiple times during the Iran-Iraq war.
Russia later completed the construction of this facility. Iran is building two other similar reactors at this site. The fuel for the Bushehr nuclear power plant is supplied by enriched uranium from Russia, not Iran, and the International Atomic Energy Agency oversees its activities.
Arak Heavy Water Reactor
The Arak heavy water reactor is located 250 kilometers southwest of Tehran. Heavy water helps cool nuclear reactors but also produces plutonium, which can potentially be used to make nuclear weapons.
If Iran decides to pursue nuclear weapons, this reactor could provide an alternative route to enriched uranium for Tehran.
Under the 2015 nuclear agreement with six world powers, Iran agreed to redesign this facility to alleviate concerns about nuclear proliferation.
Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center
This facility, located in Isfahan about 350 kilometers southeast of Tehran, employs thousands of nuclear experts. It also houses three Chinese research reactors and laboratories related to the country’s nuclear program.
Tehran Research Reactor
The Tehran Research Reactor is located at the headquarters of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the civilian body overseeing the country’s nuclear program.
In fact, the United States provided this reactor to Iran in 1967 as part of its Atoms for Peace program during the Cold War.
Initially, the Tehran reactor required highly enriched uranium, but it was later upgraded to use low-enriched uranium due to proliferation concerns.
