Even with the world paying attention to their every move, Iran doubled the number of uranium-enrichment centrifuges in an underground bunker. Western nations threatened to attack Tehran if they did not immediately stop their atomic work. The International Atomic Energy Agency found that centrifuges at Fordow, which are buried within a mountain for protection against an attack, increased to 2,140 from 1,064 in the past few months. Although the new centrifuges are not yet functioning, Iran increased its kilograms of higher-grade enriched uranium from 145 kilograms to 190 at the same time they were creating more capacity (Keinon). .
Western states have long believed that Iran was attempting to create massive amounts of uranium and might now be tempted to act on their threats of an air strike. The Israeli government commented that the IAEA's report "is further proof of what Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been saying about Iran for years." Some government officials think Iran might strike before the upcoming United States' presidential election in November, but the Obama administration is still hopeful that diplomatic pressure will prompt Iran to stop their activities (Keinon). Israel is looking to President Obama to either act on his threats or permit them to do so (Sanger). .
"Just yesterday, we received additional proof of the fact that Iran is continuing to make accelerated progress toward achieving nuclear weapons while totally ignoring international demands," said Netanyahu, who calls for immediate military action against Iran. Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak is the loudest proponent for attacking Iran, arguing that they have crossed the "zone of immunity" and will soon be producing uranium from a site that cannot be attacked (Sanger).
American officials, who are still hoping that Iran will heed their warnings, argued that the majority of the centrifuges are not yet functioning.
