All articles tagged with #nuclear
President Trump said the U.S. would work with Iran to dig up and remove its enriched uranium buried after last summer’s joint U.S.-Israel strikes, but Iran has not confirmed the plan; Trump also claimed no enrichment had occurred since the June attacks as talks on a two‑week ceasefire and sanctions relief with Tehran continue.
Nuclear physicist Patricia Lewis says Trump’s plan to seize Iran’s uranium is a misreading of the issue; Iran’s heavy-enrichment program and guarded facilities mean stockpile figures don’t directly indicate weapon readiness, and the real danger lies in escalating tensions and the complexity of Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran’s leadership shift amid war pressure and hardline gains has reignited talk of reversing the long-standing nuclear doctrine. With the new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei at the helm and the IRGC tightening its grip, experts say the regime could abandon the nuclear fatwa and pursue a weapon, leveraging Iran’s stockpile of more than 400 kilograms of enriched uranium. A crude device could be possible and would serve as a deterrent, but it might spark a regional arms race—most notably with Saudi Arabia—while deterrence remains far from guaranteed and many details about Iran’s intentions remain uncertain.
Iran says its uranium processing facility in Ardakan and a Khondab heavy-water complex were hit in separate strikes after Israel warned it would escalate; Tehran reports no radioactive leak or casualties. Israel says it attacked targets in Iran, including in or near Tehran, as tensions and threats of broader retaliation rise amid ongoing US-led discussions in the region.
Iran’s state media says its heavy-water and yellowcake (nuclear) facilities were struck Friday, hours after Israel threatened to escalate its campaign. The incident comes amid ongoing U.S.-Iran diplomacy and continuing regional hostilities, with markets dipping and oil prices rising as fighting broadens and civilians suffer casualties in Iran, Lebanon, and elsewhere.
CBS News explains that removing or destroying Iran’s highly enriched uranium—likely buried deep at sites like Isfahan and Natanz (and possibly Pickaxe Mountain)—would require a large, highly trained ground operation, intricate logistics, and stealth, facing booby traps, radioactive hazards, and dangerous exfiltration. Lessons from Eagle Claw and Black Hawk Down highlight the perils of speed and surprise in such a mission, making the stockpile either removal or destruction one of the riskiest military endeavors in history.
Israel said its forces struck Iran’s Khandab heavy‑water reactor near Arak and the Ardakan yellowcake facility, part of simultaneous attacks on regime infrastructure; Iran reported no casualties and evacuation warnings were issued for Arak residents, with the IDF describing the sites as key assets tied to nuclear production.
Iran fired missiles at Dimona and Arad near Israel’s main nuclear research center, injuring more than 100 as the war widens; Israel says it could not intercept the strikes and will continue its campaign, while Iran’s Natanz facility was hit earlier and the IAEA reported no abnormal radiation levels.
Iranian missiles hit southern Israel near the Dimona nuclear research center, injuring dozens after an earlier strike on Natanz, with Tehran also targeting the Diego Garcia base. In Washington, Trump warns he will obliterate Iranian power plants within 48 hours unless the Strait of Hormuz is opened, as U.S. and allied forces bolster in the region. The war, now in its fourth week, has produced casualties on multiple sides and heightened global concerns over oil shipments, while Israel conducts operations in Lebanon and Gulf states brace for further clashes.
Iran says its missile strike on Israel's Dimona nuclear site was in retaliation for the Natanz attack. Israel confirms a direct impact and reported injuries, while the IAEA is monitoring and says no abnormal radiation levels were detected. The strike follows a US-Israeli operation against Natanz and signals potential broadening of hostilities, with Iran warning of further targets.
With weeks of fighting continuing, Trump aides including Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are quietly planning what diplomacy with Iran could look like, aiming to establish terms for potential talks such as reopening the Strait of Hormuz, capping uranium enrichment, decommissioning key reactors, and enforcing strict external oversight plus regional arms-control pacts. Iran has pressed for a ceasefire and reparations. The U.S. is seeking the right Iranian decision-makers and a mediator—eyeing Qatar over Oman—while signaling possible room to address frozen assets if talks progress, though no direct contact has occurred yet and a ceasefire is not currently on offer.
A Texas 12-year-old, Aiden MacMillan, says he built a home fusion reactor and detected neutron production, potentially becoming the youngest to trigger fusion; experts caution that sustaining continuous energy and full validation remain uncertain, but a Guinness World Record could follow if confirmed.
NASA is building Dragonfly, a nuclear-powered rotorcraft drone, to explore Saturn's moon Titan (launching on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy in 2028 with a 2034 arrival). Powered by a multi-mission RTG, it will fly through Titan's dense atmosphere to gather atmospheric, spectrometric, and seismic data, analyze chemical samples, and search for indicators of life, leveraging Titan's dunes and subsurface ocean in a mission costing about $3 billion.
Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility remains an unresolved threat. Despite US and Israeli efforts since the June 2025 war, over 400 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium remains unaddressed and the Pickaxe Mountain site—deeply buried and heavily fortified—has not been neutralized, with satellite imagery showing ongoing fortifications and questions about its operability or the feasibility of destroying or seizing it.
Two analysts assess the Iran war: Tehran’s new leadership signals continued hard-line control via the IRGC, while the US‑Israel campaign has degraded Iran’s current power but could accelerate its efforts to rebuild deterrence and its nuclear/missile programs. Iran appears domestically fragile amid protests, complicating politics, and a military victory may not translate into political success. Debates over whether the US should declare victory and withdraw versus continuing pressure reflect divergent views on the endgame; if the regime endures, it could become more repressive or pursue a recalibrated deterrence, shaping future US‑Iran policy.