Some of Iran's enriched uranium survived American ‘bunker buster' bomb attacks: Israel
They may now be 'accessible to Iranian nuclear engineers,' the official told the New York Times.
Parts of Iran came under attack from the US and Israel after Israle launched a barrage of atttacks against the Islamic Republic on June 13.
During the conflict in mid-June, US intelligence officials reportedly said they had seen no evidence of a move by Iran to weaponise its stockpile of near-bomb-grade uranium.
The US struck two of Iran's most critical enrichment sites with 30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs and aimed a barrage of submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles at a third site, where the fuel could be converted for use in weapons, report added.
In a briefing for reporters on Wednesday evening, the Israeli official did not express concern about the assessment that some of the stockpile of 60 percent enriched uranium, stored in casks, had survived the attack.
The official, and other Israelis with access to the country's intelligence findings, said any attempts by Iran to recover it would almost certainly be detected — and there would be time to attack the facilities again.
Western intelligence officials confirmed the Israeli assessment, saying that they believed much of the stockpile was buried under rubble in Iran's nuclear laboratory at Isfahan and potentially other sites, the New York Times reported.
One of the officials concurred that the US or Israel would know if the Iranians tried to retrieve the enriched uranium. Such a move, the official said, would surely invite a renewed Israeli bombing attack.
Much of Iran's enriched uranium is believed deeply buried at Isfahan, the senior Israeli official said. The US used B-2 stealth bombers to target the Fordo and Natanz sites.
'The enriched uranium at Isfahan could potentially be retrieved by Iranians but reaching it would take a very difficult recovery effort,' the Israeli official was quoted by The Associated Press as saying.
US President Donald Trump is adamant that the US strikes 'obliterated' the three Iranian nuclear facilities it targeted.
International assessments and an initial US intelligence assessment have been more measured, with the US Defense Intelligence Agency saying in a preliminary report that the strikes did significant damage to the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan sites, but did not destroy them.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Wire
23 minutes ago
- The Wire
From ‘Howdy Modi' to ‘Cannot Name Trump': How Modi Has Taken a Hit from Trump's Tariffs and Taunts
Trump's actions hit directly at the pillars propping up Modi's domestic political strength in ways visible and hard to immediately fix. Prime Minister Modi, accompanied by US President Donald Trump, writes in the visitor's book at the White House. Photo: Press Information Bureau/GODL. New Delhi: US President Donald Trump's announcement of steep tariffs on India, his criticism of the Indian economy as "dead" and his public overtures towards Pakistan have placed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, more than India as a nation, in a uniquely difficult spot. While the impact on India as a country is tangible, it is a moment of political reckoning for Modi, who has been under pressure since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when the BJP lost its majority in the house. Here are the reasons it places Modi in a tough spot. Destroys Modi's domestic image of a global statesman Modi has painstakingly cultivated an image of himself domestically as a top global leader exhibiting close personal friendships with the world's most influential heads of state, particularly in the US. Trump's public insults and punitive tariffs undermine this persona, making Modi appear ineffective or even powerless in protecting Indian interests and standing on the world stage. Under pressure from the US, he has already succumbed to China, even though Beijing continues to pile on pressure and refuses to make any concessions. This severely erodes Modi's political brand at home, where he and his party have used images from his foreign trips to project influence domestically. Political ammunition for domestic opposition With Trump – the first for an American president – openly criticising the Indian economy and labelling it 'dead', opposition parties such as the Congress have seized upon these remarks to portray Modi's economic approach and foreign outreach as failures. They argue that Modi's support of Trump during previous years has unravelled, leaving India diplomatically isolated and economically vulnerable. Modi's failure to name Trump in his Lok Sabha speech, despite an open challenge by leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi, has shown him as weak and scared of standing up to the US president. This provides ammunition for the opposition parties to politically target Modi when he is already being challenged by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on the issue of the election of the new BJP president. Setbacks undermine Modi's central arguments The new US tariffs threaten to erode the competitiveness of Indian exports, damage investor sentiment and threaten to bury Modi's faltering attempts to get global manufacturing to India. Key labour-intensive sectors such as jewellery, textiles and certain electronics face certain job losses. These outcomes create immediate economic pain and threaten Modi's narrative of making India an economic powerhouse as the 'fourth-largest economy in the world'. If the US also follows through on penalties related to India's Russia policy, the fallout could be even more severe. Energy prices could rise and India's fiscal deficit could increase, putting further pressure on the budget and bringing greater distress to the people. Hyphenation with Pakistan sours nationalist dreams Trump's statements and overtures that club India with Pakistan, including praising a new US-Pakistan energy deal and openly patronising Islamabad, are a direct affront to Modi's narrative of India as a regional counterweight to both Pakistan and China. The perception that the US is tilting toward Pakistan, or using India-Pakistan tensions for leverage, is particularly damaging to Modi's core nationalist constituency, which takes pride in a strong, singular global standing for India. It believed that India cannot be equated with its neighbour or seen as needing US mediation to end the conflict. Modi's inability to secure even this basic gain of the UPA era damages his ' desh nahi jhukne doonga ' brand among his core Hindutva supporters. Loss of bargaining leverage hurts economy Modi's strategy had relied on fostering goodwill and leveraging the India-US relationship for favourable trade agreements and strategic cooperation. Trump's abrupt imposition of tariffs, at rates higher than those faced by competing Asian economies, signals that Washington is willing to use harsh tactics, regardless of personal or diplomatic ties. This despite Modi rushing to meet Trump after his re-election early this year. New Delhi is now left scrambling for a response, with very limited leverage, and must consider politically costly concessions or risk a further downturn in exports and economic growth. After 11 years of being in power, Modi can't shift the blame on anyone else and will be held accountable for the severe economic downturn in the public eye. In sum, Trump's actions and rhetoric hit directly at pillars propping Modi's domestic political strength and standing, in ways that are both visible and hard to quickly repair. The impact on India will be managed, but it is Modi, as a political leader and as an electoral brand, who now faces the greatest challenge in his eleven years in office. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
India Today
23 minutes ago
- India Today
Does Pakistan have enough oil deposits to lure US investment?
US President Donald Trump's surprise announcement to develop Pakistan's 'massive oil reserves' has left many wondering: Does the Islamic nation really have oil deposits big enough to attract US companies?An analysis of the Pakistani government's data and official documents paints a different picture. advertisementDespite efforts, Pakistan's domestic oil production has been on the decline. Data shows it produced 89030 barrels of crude oil per day in 2019, which is projected to decline to 64262 barrels per day in OF TRUMP'S MOVEPresident Trump's announcement to develop 'massive oil reserves' appears to be based on two claims. The first one is based on a joint study between Pakistan's Ministry of Energy and the now-defunct United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2020. The study found:Free gas in-place: 3778 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF)Technically recoverable free gas: 188 TCFRisked recoverable free gas: 95 TCFShale oil in-place: 2323 barrels per stock tank barrel (BSTB)Technically recoverable oil: 58 BSTBRisked recoverable oil: 14 BSTB Let's break down these technical terms. 'In-place' refers to the understanding of the total amount of oil sitting inside shale rocks underground, 'technically recoverable' refers to the amount of gas and oil that can be theoretically extracted. 'Risked recoverable' is the most realistic claim of the discovery of 'massive reserves' in Pakistan's territorial waters was published in Pakistani media in September 2024. A 'senior security official' told Pakistani media that the assessment was based on 3D seismic mapping – the first step in oil exploration. In 2019, American oil firm ExxonMobil drilled an offshore well, named Kekra-1, but couldn't extract any oil or gas, as per the company's annual report. ExxonMobil has returned to Pakistan after nearly a decade after surveys suggested the possibility of big oil reserves within Pakistani waters.'ExxonMobil, ENI, PPL [Pakistan Petroleum Limited], and OGDC [Oil & Gas Development Company Limited] were conducting the drill at Kekra-1. More than 5,500-metre-deep drilling was conducted, but oil and gas reserves were not found. The drilling work has now been abandoned,' DawnNewsTV quoted an official as saying. Caption: Most of the oil reserve sites fall in Balochistan, where an ethnic insurgency remains a security threat.)In consecutive energy outlooks, the Petroleum Institute of Pakistan (PIP), which represents all segments of the petroleum industry, has lamented the depleting oil and gas reserves. In its 200 energy outlook, the institute said Pakistan was facing issues such as old infrastructure, depleting indigenous resources and an increasing dependence on COMPANIES SAY GOODBYEFour major oil and gas companies have announced exits from Pakistan between 2021 and 2024. While Italy's ENI bid adieu in 2021 after two decades, Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company sold its assets in multiple blocks to Pakistan Exploration Limited (PEL) in late sold its majority stake in Shell Pakistan in 2023 and TotalEnergies announced its Pakistan exit in late 2024.- EndsTune InMust Watch
Hindustan Times
23 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
'Calling US a gambling society wouldn't be unfair': Nithin Kamath on India-America trading comparisons
Zerodha co-founder Nithin Kamath has commented on the ongoing debate about India's options trading volume, claiming that the comparison between India and the United States is not only flawed but also misleading. In a lengthy post on social media, Nithin Kamath argued that Indian markets are significantly less leveraged than their US counterparts. (@Nithin0dha/X) Kamath took a direct jab at America's gambling culture and stated, 'Calling the US a gambling society wouldn't be unfair.' He pointed out a recent $210 million wager on whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would wear a suit at the NATO summit. 'Gambling runs deep in American culture. From the stock market to sports, casinos, events, lotteries, prediction markets, and crypto, you can bet on anything," he added. In a lengthy post on social media, Kamath argued that Indian markets are significantly less leveraged than their US counterparts. 'It's ridiculous to see people comparing options trading volumes in India and the US and claiming that we're overleveraged. So this constant narrative that we're somehow dangerously overleveraged, just because of the number of options contracts traded, feels… well, misguided,' he wrote. He added that India's financial markets are about 15–20 years behind in terms of maturity. 'In the US, the margin funding market (the equivalent of MTF in India) recently crossed $1 trillion. In India, it's still under $10 billion—just 1% of that,' he wrote. The post earned praise online from trade enthusiasts. "Spot on about the leverage comparison being misleading. We're still building basic infrastructure while US has mature options markets for decades," said one of them. Another added, "Comparing India to the US in leverage is like bringing a water pistol to a wildfire!" "Interesting point. Also, India's options market skews retail, while US leans institutional, so leverage tolerance differs," wrote a third user.
