Where is Iran's enriched uranium? Questions loom after Trump claims victory.

Yahoo

6 days ago

WASHINGTON − Amid President Donald Trump's scramble to save the Israel-Iran ceasefire and his claims to have "obliterated" Iranian nuclear sites, a key question remains unanswered − where's the uranium?
Trump's June 23 ceasefire announcement came after his administration said it destroyed three of Iran's major nuclear facilities – Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
The U.S. strikes "completely and totally obliterated" Iran's nuclear facilities, Trump said June 21 after the bombs were dropped.
Initial assessments showed all three sites "sustained extremely severe damage and destruction," Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters.
But watchers of Iran's nuclear program say a massive question mark looms over the U.S. operation – what happened to Iran's enriched uranium?
That's "not the question before us," Vice President JD Vance said in a June 23 Fox News interview, dodging the question of what happened to Iran's uranium stockpile. The bombing had, more importantly, destroyed Tehran's ability to enrich uranium to the level needed for a nuclear weapon, he said.
"I do think that the uranium was buried," he added.
Nuclear experts disagreed.
"Significant nuclear materials remain unaccounted for," said Kelsey Davenport, the Arms Control Association's director for nonproliferation policy.
"Our understanding is that some of them were taken away by Iran, and we don't know where they are," David Albright, a former United Nations nuclear weapons inspector, said of the enriched uranium stockpiles in a June 24 CNN interview.
More: Inside the attack: Details revealed of secret US mission to bomb Iran
Satellite images showed new craters at the Fordow and Natanz facilities where U.S. "bunker buster" bombs made impact.
"It is clear that Fordow was also directly impacted, but the degree of damage inside the uranium enrichment halls can't be determined with certainty,' Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a June 22 report.
Officials and nuclear experts say most of Iran's enriched uranium was stored in an underground complex near the Isfahan facility, which the U.S. struck with Tomahawk missiles fired from a Navy submarine, demolishing several above-ground facilities, satellite images show.
Grossi reported damage to several buildings and entrances to the underground storage tunnels, but it's unclear what happened to any uranium that may have been held in the tunnels.
"It does not appear like the underground facility has been targeted at all," said Sam Lair, a research associate at Middlebury College's James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
"Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan all include deeply buried facilities where it will be challenging to assess the extent of the damage without boots on the ground at these sites," said Davenport.
Lair said Iran had ample time to move enriched uranium out of the underground tunnels before Israel first struck the facility on June 13. Even if they had not yet moved the uranium by the time Israel launched its first attack of the 12-day conflict, "they had a period where Isfahan was not being targeted, and they could have done so," he said.
Satellite images from Maxar Technology captured vehicles activity at Fordow in the days leading up to the U.S. strikes, including a line of cargo trucks parked outside. And Hassan Abedini, deputy political director for Iran's state broadcaster, told reporters after the U.S. bombing that Iran "didn't suffer a major blow because the materials had already been taken out."
Iran's enriched uranium is central to Israeli and U.S. justifications for their attacks. According to the IAEA, Iran has enriched more than 400 kilograms − about 880 pounds − of uranium to 60%, enough to make around nine nuclear weapons if it is further enriched to weapons grade, which is around 90%.
"The risk posed by the 60% enriched uranium is amplified because Iran may have also stashed centrifuges at an undeclared site," said Davenport.
On June 13, the day Israel launched its attack on Iran, citing the dangers of its nuclear program, the IAEA said Iran had revealed plans for a new enrichment site.
"The Iranians, on some level, were preparing for an outcome similar to this," Lair said. Another site is "ready to have centrifuges installed somewhere, and not very many people are talking about it."
On June 24, Iranian nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami told Mehr News the nuclear program – which Iran asserts is peaceful – would be restored. "The plan is to prevent interruptions in the process of production and services," Eslami said.
But Trump vowed in a post on Truth Social: "IRAN WILL NEVER REBUILD THEIR NUCLEAR FACILITIES!"
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What happened to Iran's enriched uranium? Experts say it's a mystery