Former Mossad chief: 'We toured Fordow nuclear site many times'

Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen said Israeli intelligence had repeatedly "toured" Iran's Fordow uranium enrichment facility before it was targeted by the United States, calling the destruction a long-awaited achievement.

"We toured the Fordow nuclear site many times in order to understand the site," Cohen said at the Galilee Forum in Safed.

Cohen characterized the U.S. Attack on the facility during the June 2025 Israel-Iran war as the result of years of concern over the site. "Its bombing by the Americans was the fulfillment of all my dreams," He said.

The United States struck the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites on June 22, 2025, during the 12-day conflict. Fordow, situated deep inside a mountain, was hit with bunker-buster bombs.

Iran said the attacks caused limited damage and that significant equipment and materials had been removed from Fordow before the strike. Tehran also reported damage at Natanz was mainly in above-ground areas, while parts of the Isfahan complex were damaged.

Cohen downplayed concerns about Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium. "Sixty percent enriched uranium is still far from a bomb," He said.

This assessment contrasts with nuclear experts' warnings that uranium enriched to 60% can be further enriched to weapons-grade levels relatively quickly. David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, has said the process could potentially take weeks or less.

Israel has assessed that Iran may have moved some of its highly enriched uranium to the Pickaxe Mountain site, a fortified underground facility near the Natanz nuclear complex, following the strikes.