Nuclear crisis in the Middle East. Iran denies access to bases due to US bombs

Iran has warned that there are still unexploded ordnance at nuclear facilities that were attacked by the US last year and has deemed them a serious threat that prevents inspections of them, something the US has insisted on in negotiations with Tehran.

According to the Qatari-funded MiddleEastMonitor website, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said last weekend that inspections could only continue after safe access to buildings was ensured, noting that there are no legal standards regulating visits to bombed nuclear facilities.

In attacks on three such facilities linked to the Iranian nuclear program – Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan – which took place last June during the 12-day Israel-Iran war, the United States used a total of fourteen GBU-57 bombs, intended to destroy heavily fortified installations.

If the Iranian foreign minister's declarations are true, they could put the US in a difficult situation, because the recovery of these unexploded ordnance will give Iran direct access to modern American weapons, potentially enabling them to measure the thickness of the casing or determine the composition of the alloy used in their production.

According to the ArmyRecognition website the Americans used heavy GBU-57 bombs carried by B-2 strategic bombers, each of which weighed about 13.6 thousand. kg and was designed to penetrate deep layers of rock and reinforced concrete before detonation. Additionally, these installations were fired by Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Aragchi's remarks came a few days after talks between Iranian and American officials took place in Oman to resolve the crisis in the Middle East, but the Iranian minister, justifying the denial of access to nuclear facilities, said that Iran did not trust the United States and described the outcome of the talks as uncertain. (PAP)

tebe/mal/