U.S. and Israeli authorities report that Israel destroyed a covert Iranian nuclear weapons research facility during its incursion into the Islamic Republic last month.
U.S. officials stated that the facility, located 20 miles east of Tehran, was used for developing the explosive mechanism required to detonate a nuclear bomb.
The Institute for Science and International Security suggested that Israeli airstrikes reportedly damaged three additional nearby sites involved in the production of solid fuel for ballistic missiles. Taleghan 2, part of the larger Parchin military complex, was previously claimed to have been shut down in 2003.
The Taleghan 2 facility was so secretive that only a few within the Iranian government knew its true purpose.
According to Axios, when Israelis targeted the Taleghan 2 facility on October 1st as a retaliation strike, President Biden asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to persecute the operation on the facility as it could trigger a war.
The publication states that Israelis insisted on striking the facility as it was Taleghan 2 was not part of Iran’s declared nuclear program. So, the Iranians wouldn’t be able to acknowledge the significance of the attack without admitting they violated the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Following identifying activities at the facility, the United States issued a classified alert to the Iranian authorities. Officials indicated that the expectation was for Iran to cease its activities; instead, nuclear operations continued.
