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CIA Said Strikes on Metal Conversion Site Set Back Iran Nuclear Program Years
(AP-Washington Post) Aamer Madhani - CIA Director John Ratcliffe told senators at a classified briefing on Thursday that American military strikes destroyed Iran's lone metal conversion facility that would take years to overcome, a U.S. official said Sunday. The metal conversion facility at the Isfahan nuclear facility transformed enriched uranium gas into dense metal, or metallization, a key step in building the explosive core of a bomb. "You can't do a nuclear weapon without a conversion facility," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week. "It's gone. It's wiped out." Ratcliffe also said the intelligence community assessed the vast majority of Iran's amassed enriched uranium likely remains buried under the rubble at Isfahan and Fordo, two key nuclear facilities targeted by U.S. strikes. The CIA director also stressed that Iran's air defense was shattered during the 12-day assault. As a result, any attempt by Iran to rebuild its nuclear program could now easily be thwarted by Israeli strikes that Iran currently has little wherewithal to defend against.