Geoff Brumfiel
A satellite photo from the European firm Airbus shows the aftermath of a strike by Israel on a building that houses centrifuges at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility.
As part of a broad strike on Iran, Israel has attacked several of the country's key nuclear facilities.
The first and most visible strike took place in the opening hours of the Israeli air campaign, which began overnight on Thursday. In a statement the Israeli military said that fighter jets had struck Iran's largest enrichment facility at Natanz. "As part of the strikes, the underground area of the site was damaged. This area contains a multi-story enrichment hall with centrifuges, electrical rooms, and additional supporting infrastructure," the statement read in part.
Video posted online and verified by NPR showed black smoke billowing from the Natanz site early Friday morning local time. A set of images from the commercial satellite company Airbus showed damage to the main electrical substation at the facility and to buildings used to assemble and run centrifuges.
