Intensified Construction at Dimona Fuels Nuclear Speculation

Dubai, Sep 3 (AP) Recent satellite imagery analyzed by experts indicates intensified construction at a significant site suspected to be pivotal to Israel's atomic weapons program. This activity at the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Centre near Dimona raises fresh questions about Israel's status as the sole nuclear-armed state in the Middle East. Secrecy surrounding the program, however, makes verification challenging.

The construction could attract international scrutiny, particularly as it follows the June bombings by Israel and the United States on Iran's nuclear facilities over fears of potential atomic weapon development. Among the targets was Iran's heavy water reactor at Arak. Experts are divided over the purpose of the new structure—whether it is a new reactor or a facility for assembling nuclear arms.

Seven analysts who reviewed the images associated the construction with Israel's nuclear weapons program due to its proximity to Dimona's existing reactor, which lacks a civilian counterpart. Three experts speculated the new structure might be a heavy water reactor, capable of producing plutonium and other nuclear weapon materials.

The remaining four experts acknowledged this possibility but also suggested it could be related to nuclear armament assembly. The early stage of construction adds to the uncertainty.

“It's probably a reactor; however, this assessment is circumstantial,” commented Jeffrey Lewis of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. The Israeli government has neither confirmed nor denied its possession of atomic weapons, maintaining silence on the matter, as did its ally, the White House.

Previously, in 2021, the Associated Press highlighted excavation work at the site some 90 kilometers south of Jerusalem. Current images reveal concrete walls and multiple floors under construction, with cranes overhead, yet a containment dome typically associated with such reactors is not yet visible.

The existing heavy water reactor at Dimona has been operational since the 1960s, indicating a need for replacement or retrofitting. “It's more plausible that it's a reactor,” Lewis noted based on the site's characteristics and strategic location. Edwin Lyman of the Union of Concerned Scientists echoed this, considering the secretive nature of the site.

Israel's program is believed to produce plutonium and tritium, both essential for nuclear armaments. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists estimated that Israel's arsenal might comprise approximately 90 warheads. Tritium, crucial for boosting warhead yield, decays annually, suggesting this construction may serve to replenish supply.

Israel, maintaining a policy of nuclear ambiguity since the 1950s as a deterrent measure, remains one of the few nations not signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. This arrangement keeps the International Atomic Energy Agency from inspecting Dimona. The IAEA affirmed that Israel is not obliged to share information on its facilities outside the Soreq research reactor.

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