After the Israeli strikes.. Satellite images reveal Iran's efforts to "cleanse" a nuclear site

Satellite images have revealed that Iran has been conducting extensive cleaning and demolition operations at the "Mojdeh" nuclear site north of Tehran, which was subjected to two Israeli airstrikes last June, in a move described by an international research institute as aimed at "erasing evidence" of potential weapon development activities.

The "Institute for Science and International Security" reported on Wednesday, based on analysis of satellite images, that "there are significant efforts by Iran to quickly remove damaged or destroyed buildings, and these efforts are likely aimed at erasing any trace of anything that incriminates it and is related to nuclear weapons research or development activities."

The site, also known as "Lavizan 2" and adjacent to Malek Ashtar University, is of intense international interest. The report noted that "the International Atomic Energy Agency has detected a direct link between Mojdeh and the (Amad Plan), a nuclear weapons development program that both the agency and U.S. intelligence have separately concluded ended in 2003."

According to the report, the first Israeli strike on June 18 targeted several buildings, including one associated with the "Institute of Applied Physics," and another suspected to be linked to the "Shahid Karimi Group" working on missile and explosives projects. The second strike completely destroyed the institute's building and damaged a security building and workshop.

By analyzing images captured by "Maxar Technologies," the institute noted that images from July 3 showed the start of cleanup operations, while images from August 19 showed the complete demolition of the Institute of Applied Physics building and the workshop, as well as the suspected building, with debris fully removed. The report commented on this, stating: "It appears that Iran's rapid work to demolish these important buildings and remove their debris aims to cleanse the site and limit the possibility of any future inspections to obtain evidence" related to nuclear weapons activities.

The report comes at a time when the "International Atomic Energy Agency" is holding talks in Tehran to resume inspections that were disrupted due to the recent war. The agency's director, Rafael Grossi, confirmed on Wednesday that "Iran is legally obligated to allow the resumption of inspections," noting that the agency wishes to visit "all relevant sites," including the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan facilities that were struck by the United States, and to assess developments in the enriched uranium stockpile.

Meanwhile, the UK, France, and Germany are likely to begin on Thursday a process to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran for violating the 2015 nuclear agreement.

For its part, Tehran continuously denies seeking to possess nuclear weapons and asserts that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes, and its embassy at the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the institute's report.

It is worth noting that the "Institute for Science and International Security" is an independent research group headed by David Albright, a former UN nuclear inspector, focusing on preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons.