Fox News suggests that the recent explosion at an Iranian military site has provided just this type of evidence. Satellite images of the site reportedly show that the blast did very widespread damage, although Iran initially tried to deny that any explosion had occurred. Both of these facts appear to give credit to Western suspicions that the site, which Iran has barred nuclear inspectors from entering, is linked to research and development into the weaponization of the nation’s enriched uranium.
Although some suspect that the explosion can be linked to systems used for the detonation of a nuclear weapon, the cause of the blast is simply not known. Naturally, others have speculated that Israeli forces or domestic resistance fighters may have sabotaged the site, although Fox News indicates that the extent of the damage would make this a very remarkable accomplishment.
After acknowledging that the explosion did indeed occur, Iran declared it to be an accident. But this has apparently not stopped the regime from exploiting suspicions of Israeli involvement. An article in the American Thinker points out that Iran ordered Hezbollah to launch an attack against Israel in supposed retaliation for the Parchin explosion.
A lengthy editorial originally published in the Jerusalem Post considers another possible explanation for the blast, namely that Tehran staged it in order to guarantee that IAEA inspectors would not be able to access the site. An inspection team arrived in Iran one day after the explosion, and advance reports indicated that access to Parchin was to be one of the main points of interest for that team.
But the same editorial accepts the assumption of Israeli involvement and argues that if that is reflective of Israel’s current policy with respect to Iran, it should be reconsidered. The author, Caroline Glick, suggests that the project of bombing or sabotaging Iranian nuclear sites is too expansive and difficult to be workable, but that supporting domestic elements in a fight for regime change may be far more effective, and a far better means of safeguarding Israeli and Western interests.
