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Did Israel Cripple Iran's Natanz Underground Nuclear Enrichment Facility?
(National Interest) Dr. Hans Ruhle - On April 11, Iran reported an "incident" at the Natanz nuclear facility that completely shut down its power supply. A televised statement by Alireza Zakani, the head of the Iranian Parliament's research center, revealed that an explosion had destroyed "thousands" of centrifuges. It appears that the Israeli intelligence service - possibly with the help of Iranian anti-government groups - had smuggled an explosive device into Natanz and detonated it remotely. Iran then announced with great fanfare that it would now start enriching uranium up to 60%, but would not do so at Natanz, as originally intended. Anyone producing uranium enriched to 60% is definitely working on nuclear weapons - there is no other conclusion. Israel has succeeded in crippling Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment facility for the unforeseeable future - with a single explosive device and without significant collateral damage. This is particularly important because the 2015 nuclear agreement stipulates that Natanz is Iran's sole facility for enriching uranium - Natanz "exclusively," as the text of the JCPOA puts it. Now more than ever, the "Begin Doctrine" applies, according to which Israel will under no circumstances allow an enemy to develop weapons of mass destruction that could be used against the Israeli population. Israeli elites have come to understand that they must fight the battle against Iran and its nuclear program without U.S. assistance. The writer is a former head of the Planning Staff in the German Ministry of Defense, and director of the Research Institute of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.