The Center of Attention

The city of Qom, Iran, is a center of Shi'ia scholarship. But just 18 miles to the north of the city is a site that's becoming a center of worldwide concern.

Iran is beginning the process of nuclear enrichment at the underground facility it built at Fordow. It appears they will use the facility to enrich uranium to 20%, which is far above the level of purity required to generate nuclear power.

The West has threatened to every available means, including military intervention, to stop Iran from pursuing its nuclear ambitions. Iran responded by threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz...choking off the world's flow of oil. Today a report surfaced indicating the West is readying plans to release up to 14 million barrels of oil per day from its strategic oil reserves which could make up for most of the oil passing through the Strait. The report also stated the West could sustain this level of supply for up to a month, which might indicate how long they anticipate it could take to eliminate Iran's ability to threaten shipping.

The two photos in this report are from Google Earth. The first shows the location of the Fordow facility in relation to the city of Qom. The second is a close-up of the facility itself. It doesn't look impressive, but the site has been the center of attention for the West...and might just become the bullseye for military intervention in the coming months.