Tehran, June 23 (V7N) — Iran had emptied its Fordow nuclear facility well before it was targeted by U.S. airstrikes, according to Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who said the move was taken in anticipation of a possible attack.

Ghalibaf stated that Iranian authorities had long suspected the possibility of a strike and proactively cleared the site to prevent significant damage. “The Fordow facility had been vacated long ago based on our assessment that the U.S. might attempt an attack,” he told reporters on Sunday.

Supporting this claim, a report by Al Jazeera cited satellite imagery captured by U.S.-based private space technology firm Maxar, which shows increased logistical activity at the Fordow site shortly before the U.S. bombing.

The images, dated June 19 and 20, reveal at least 16 cargo trucks positioned at the facility’s entrance, along with several bulldozers operating nearby. The exact contents being transported or removed from the site remain undisclosed.

The Fordow facility was one of three key nuclear sites targeted during Saturday night’s U.S. airstrike, which also included Natanz and Isfahan. While the White House has called the strikes a “precision operation” to dismantle Iran’s uranium enrichment infrastructure, Tehran has so far downplayed the impact, suggesting minimal damage was incurred.

Iranian officials continue to assess the situation, while satellite analysts and international observers await further confirmation on the extent of damage and what—if anything—was successfully evacuated from the site.

END/WD/RH/