
Iran’s Uranium Stockpile: What We Know in the Aftermath of US Strikes
According to Iranian sources, the enriched uranium was indeed transported from Fordow before the US bombed the plant and may currently be concealed in unidentified places.
The fate of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile is still unknown following days of discussion on whether Israeli and US strikes damaged Iran’s three main nuclear sites.
The current state of Iran’s enriched uranium supply is still largely unknown, despite a CIA study confirming “significant damage” to nuclear facilities that has delayed the nuclear program by many years.
Trump and US officials’ claims
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth stated during a Pentagon news briefing on Thursday, June 26, that he was not aware of any information indicating Iran had transferred any of their highly enriched uranium prior to the US strikes.
“As far as I’m aware, no intelligence that I’ve reviewed indicates that anything was moved or otherwise not where it should have been,” he stated.
In line with the defence secretary’s remarks, US President Donald Trump claimed that nothing had been removed from the location before the assault. Regarding the Fordow nuclear plant, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that it “would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!”
Additionally, American intelligence services were keeping a careful eye on the Iranian nuclear sites, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, “and there was no indication to the United States that any of that enriched uranium was moved prior to the strike.”
What is stated in the first Pentagon report?
Top US officials provided the clarification after a Pentagon-prepared US intelligence study concluded that the June 20 US hit on Iran’s nuclear facilities merely caused a few-month delay in Tehran’s nuclear program, rather than causing damage to its essential elements.
Trump denied the allegations that the US strikes “completely obliterated” the nuclear facilities, maintaining his position.
Without providing any proof, Obama accused his Democratic rivals of leaking the intelligence assessment to the American press. Trump posted on Truth Social, “The Democrats are the ones who leaked the information on the PERFECT FLIGHT to the Nuclear Sites in Iran.” “They ought to face legal action!”
He also attacked CNN for claiming that Iran’s nuclear sites had not been destroyed by US strikes.
However, a CIA investigation found “credible evidence” that recent strikes have “severely damaged” Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran’s enriched uranium movement
Although the facilities were targeted, it is uncertain if Iran’s full inventory of enriched uranium was destroyed, and the nation would find it difficult to increase production.
According to intelligence officials, Iran might have tried to evacuate its enriched uranium stockpile from Fordow in case its nuclear facilities were attacked.
Regarding which plant held the majority of Iran’s enriched uranium, there is no definitive confirmation. According to Trump, it happened at Fordow, which he says was completely devastated. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has stated that the majority of the stockpile was at Isfahan, where Iran maintains reactors and other facilities that use enriched uranium, whereas some contend it was at Natanz.
Iranian officials had informed his officials that they intended to relocate the material if they thought it was under danger, according to IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. Iran would “adopt special measures to protect our nuclear equipment and materials,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a letter to the IAEA Director General dated June 13.
Vehicles carrying supplies into or out of the Isfahan nuclear complex were observed in the days preceding the US strikes.
Satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showed “unusual activity” at Fordow, with a long line of vehicles queued outside the facility, according to Reuters. Prior to the attack, the majority of the 60% highly enriched uranium had been transferred to a secret location, a senior Iranian source told Reuters.
The Director General of the IAEA later stated that it seemed that Iran still controlled a sizable portion of the near-bomb-grade fuel. He told the Financial Times, “I don’t know if they moved all of it, but the evidence points to them moving out a lot of it.”
Because it was not concentrated at Fordow, Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile is still mostly intact, according to the Financial Times, which cited European intelligence assessments.
According to Iranian sources, the enriched uranium was indeed transported from Fordow before the US bombed the plant and may currently be concealed in unidentified places.
According to the newspaper, which cited two individuals briefed on initial intelligence assessments, European capitals do not think that Iran’s 408 kilogrammes of weapons-grade enriched uranium stockpile was concentrated at Fordow at the time of last weekend’s strike.
Iran has accumulated more than 8,400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, or nearly bomb-grade, over the years. Tehran, meanwhile, remains adamant that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.