Prelims: Current events of National Importance and International Importance | International Relations
Why in News?
Israel's military strikes on Iran were named Operation Rising Lion.
Rising Lion -The name is taken from a Bible verse, which symbolizes Israel’s strength and determination, comparing the nation to a lion rising for battle.
Israel's strikes focused on nuclear facilities, missile production sites, and senior Iranian military figures.
Chief among them was Iran's principal uranium enrichment site at Natanz.
Natanz is home to thousands of centrifuges and has long been at the centre of Western and Israeli concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Reports showed fires near the above-ground Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP).
The below-ground Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP), which is three stories deep, is considered more resistant to conventional airstrikes.
This marks the most direct Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear infrastructure since the Stuxnet cyberattack over a decade ago.
Iran’s Nuclear Infrastructure
Over the past five years, Iran has steadily accelerated its uranium enrichment programme, shortening the time it would take to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon.
This breakout time, the period needed to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels sufficient for one nuclear device, reportedly shrunk to just a few weeks.
Under the terms of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that timeframe was estimated at over a year.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimates that Iran possesses enough 60% enriched uranium, if enriched further to 90%, to manufacture nearly 4 nuclear warheads.
Tehran maintains that its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes.
Other Nuclear Facilities
Fordow- Located in the city of Qom, south of Tehran, is its most fortified.
Isfahan - Isfahan is a multi-purpose nuclear complex located on the outskirts of Isfahan in central Iran.
The Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) here is where yellowcake uranium is processed into uranium hexafluoride (UF6), the gaseous form used in centrifuges for enrichment.
Khondab - Khondab is located near the city of Arak in western Iran.
Originally known as the Arak Heavy Water Reactor, the Khondab facility has the potential to produce plutonium, another pathway to a nuclear bomb.
Tehran Research Reactor - The capital's research reactor is primarily used for academic and medical purposes.
Bushehr - Located in southern Iran, on the Persian Gulf coast, Bushehr is Iran's only operational civilian nuclear power plant.
Constructed with Russian assistance, the facility is powered by Russian-supplied fuel, which is returned to Russia after use.
