Iran claims it has successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time on Friday. Smoke was visible in the sky over Golestan Province and the Natanz area of Isfahan Province during the test.
There were also reports of multiple emission trails in the skies above Semnan Province, sparking concerns among local residents. The successful test was announced by the Iranian MP Zanganeh during an interview on state TV. “The night before last, we conducted a security test of an intercontinental missile for the first time, and it was successful,” he said.
Israel launched devastating air raids against Iran in June, targeting key military and nuclear facilities. US jets also joined in the attacks on the nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan in a military operation codenamed Midnight Hammer
Fourteen GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs) were dropped on the Fordow – the site of an uranium enrichment plant buried deep beneath a mountain.
Each bomb weighs 13,000kg (30,000lb) and is able to penetrate 18m (60ft) of concrete or 61m (200ft) of earth before exploding.
Donald Trump hailed the US strikes as a “spectacular military success”, claiming that Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities had been “completely and totally obliterated”.
Just over a week ago, Iran said that its stockpile of enriched uranium remained buried beneath the rubble of the nuclear sites.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told state television that the nuclear materials were all “located under the debris of the bombed installations”.
He added that Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization was “assessing whether these materials are accessible or not”.
The fate of the stockpile has been a topic of hot debate among diplomats and nuclear experts, with many suspecting Tehran could have moved it prior to the joint Israeli and US strikes.
Tehran suspended its co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after the 12-day war, making it difficult to assess its whereabouts.
The UK, Germany and France cited Iran’s failure to allow the IAEA to resume full inspections and clarify the status of the enriched uranium as reasons behind their decision to reimpose UN sanctions.
