An Israeli airstrike against Iranian nuclear facilities is technically feasible and can help Israel buy some time, but it cannot completely resolve the problem, Dr. Olli Heinonen, former deputy director-general at the International Atomic Energy Agency and a senior research fellow at the Stimson Center think tank, told Israel Hayom on Wednesday.
Heinonen, 75, is intimately familiar with the Islamic republic's nuclear program. After all, he spent entire days in underground Iranian nuclear sites when the nuclear program was in its infancy, and later on after it had expanded and developed. He served in numerous capacities at the IAEA, climbing the ladder to become the organization's second most senior official, during which he was charged with monitoring nuclear programs across the globe.
The interview with Heinonen took an interesting turn when he was asked about the possibility of an Israeli military strike in Iran, for the purpose of destroying its nuclear program.
"Technically, such an attack is feasible, even though several of the [nuclear] sites would be more difficult to attack than others," he explains. "But the entire matter starts with one thing: You need to know what you are bombing because if you don't know, you have a serious problem on your hands. It's easy to say, 'We need to bomb Natanz, Fordo.' Maybe there are other [uranium] enrichment sites. You need to know the status of these facilities. Are they still there? Are we familiar with them?"
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