WarSclerotic

Iran prepares for nuclear work i… JPost – Iranian Threat – News.

  VIENNA – Iran is preparing to install centrifuges for higher-grade uranium enrichment in an underground bunker, diplomatic sources say, a development that is likely to add to Western worries about Tehran’s atomic aims.

Preparatory work is under way at the Fordow facility, tucked deep inside a mountain to protect it against any attacks, and machines used to refine uranium could soon be moved to the site near the clerical city of Qom, the sources said.

The Islamic Republic said in June it would shift production of uranium enriched to 20 percent purity to Fordow from its main Natanz plant this year and triple output capacity, in a defiant response to charges that it is trying to make atomic bombs.

Tehran only disclosed the existence of Fordow two years ago after Western intelligence detected it and said it was evidence of covert nuclear activities. The facility has yet to start operating.

“They are preparing (for the centrifuges to be installed) in Fordow,” one diplomatic source said.

Refined uranium can be used to fuel nuclear power reactors and also, if enriched to much higher levels, provide material for atomic arms.

Iran’s June announcement that it would move and boost output has drawn censure from the West, which has imposed increasingly tough sanctions on Tehran to try to force it to halt enrichment.

Carrying out the process in Fordow could provide greater protection for Iran’s uranium-purifying centrifuges against any US and Israeli air strikes.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and says it is enriching uranium for electricity production and medical applications.

But its decision in early 2010 to raise the level of enrichment from the 3.5 percent purity needed for normal power plant fuel to 20 percent worried countries that saw it as a significant step towards the 90 percent needed for bombs.

Three Kassams fired from Gaza Strip, IAF hits … JPost – Defense.

  A Kassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip exploded in a field near a kibbutz in the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council Wednesday morning, according to Army Radio. No injuries or damage was reported.

Earlier, the IAF struck two targets in the northern Gaza Strip overnight Tuesday, which the IDF described as sites used for weapons production. Direct hits on the targets were recorded, the IDF spokesperson said.
The airstrikes were in response to two rockets that were fired from the Strip into Israeli territory Tuesday night.

The Kassam rockets exploded in the western Negev. No injuries or damage was reported, although one landed near a local kibbutz.

Over the weekend, the IAF attacked tunnels in the northern strip in response to rocket fire.

Late last week, an IDF soldier was lightly wounded by an explosive device that was detonated near his vehicle along the Gaza border fence.