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A satellite image showing destroyed buildings at the Isfahan nuclear technology center after recent airstrikes.
A satellite image showing destroyed buildings at the Isfahan nuclear technology center after recent airstrikes.

Source: Maxar Technologies

Middle East

Satellite Images Suggest US Avoided Iran’s Nuclear Reactors

Pictures show the destruction at the Isfahan facility doesn’t include the buildings likely housing three research reactors.

For all of the destruction the US Air Force visited on Iran’s nuclear program, satellite images show that military planners were careful not to hit reactors at a key research facility.

Notably absent from the International Atomic Energy Agency’s latest damage report are three research reactors operating at the Isfahan Nuclear Technology and Research Center. One of the so-called miniature neutron source reactors, made by China in 1991, runs on 900 grams (2 pounds) of bomb-grade uranium.