US Strikes Deliberately Avoided Iran’s Isfahan Reactors: Bloomberg

By Staff, Agencies

Despite the US airstrikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, satellite imagery indicates that reactors at the Isfahan Nuclear Technology and Research Center were deliberately spared, Bloomberg reported on Monday, adding that the facility, which includes three operational research reactors, remained undamaged according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

US officials stated that a full damage assessment will take time, but early analysis suggests deliberate efforts to avoid irradiating active reactor cores. Four senior officials in Vienna confirmed that the Isfahan reactors were not targeted, citing risks of a nuclear incident.

According to Bloomberg, the IAEA Board of Governors convened an emergency session in Vienna to discuss the strikes, emphasizing that hitting operational reactors, even low-powered ones, could set a dangerous precedent.

That said, agency inspectors also requested updated information from Iran on the location of its highly enriched uranium stockpile.

Iranian officials warned that the attacks have undermined global efforts to control nuclear proliferation.

Iran’s envoy to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, stated that the strikes dealt an "irreparable blow" to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), calling its framework ineffective. In retaliation, Iran launched missiles at a US air base in Qatar. 

Though the Isfahan reactors were not damaged, Bloomberg mentioned that the attack targeted adjacent buildings, possibly used by nuclear personnel.

Analysts suggested these structures served operational support functions.

The strikes, carried out with B-2 stealth bombers using GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, also hit Iran's uranium enrichment facilities in Natanz and Fordow.

Satellite images showed collapsed tunnel entrances and craters at Fordow.

Iranian authorities stated early Sunday that the US attacks caused no radiation leaks or risk to surrounding populations and confirmed that the structural integrity of the targeted sites remained intact.