Joe Biden says bunkers could be destroyed by force, despite US media reports that claim the structures are too deep to attack
Iran is building a massive underground complex which is resistant to bombs and online infiltration, according to US media reports, marking another escalation of its nuclear programme.
The sprawling network of tunnels is being built near the Natanz nuclear site, where a series of suspected Israeli strikes have occurred over the past three years.
Israel claims the Iranian programme is about to complete work on a nuclear weapon and regards it as an existential threat.
According to The New York Times, the tunnels are being built as deep as possible “so they can withstand bunker-busting bombs and cyber attacks.”
The report said it was not clear how great a role the tunnel network would play in Iran’s nuclear activities and alleged efforts to develop a bomb. Iran denies working on a nuclear weapon and says the programme is peaceful.
Following a series of mysterious explosions at Iranian nuclear facilities, Tehran appears to be moving some of its activity underground to reduce the risk of attacks from hostile powers.
Joe Biden, the US president, is said to be confident that the tunnels could be destroyed by force if it were necessary and that they are several years away from completion.
However, Israel is likely to regard the tunnel construction as a serious escalation. Naftali Benett, the Israeli prime minister, told The Telegraph this month that Iran was “dangerously” close to getting its hands on a nuclear bomb.
Israeli sources told The New York Times that the new facilities were similar to the massive Fordow site, which is run by the Revolutionary Guard, but also appeared to be much larger.
Tehran ramped up its nuclear activities after the Trump Administration withdrew from the Iran nuclear pact in 2018.
Talks between Western leaders and Iran in Vienna on restoring the Obama-era deal have stalled, and there are growing concerns that both sides may abandon efforts altogether.
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