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Satellite images show trucks lined up at Iran's Fordo nuclear facility before US air strikes

Satellite images show trucks lined up at Iran's Fordo nuclear facility before US air strikes

New York Post23-06-2025

Satellite images appeared to show scores of trucks lined up at Iran's Fordow nuclear facility just days before the US carried out its large-scale airstrikes — as speculation swirled that Tehran may have been able to move its uranium stockpiles before the attacks.
The images, released by US defense contractor Maxar Technologies, captured more than a dozen cargo-style trucks lined up outside the Fordow nuclear enrichment site's tunnel entrance on Thursday and Friday.
The vehicles, which came and went over a 24-hour stretch, appeared to move unidentified contents roughly half a mile away, the Free Press reported, citing US officials.
US and Israeli intelligence officials were aware of the movement at the time but opted not to act so they could track where the trucks headed and await President Trump's order to carry out the strikes, the officials added.
Images released by US defense contractor Maxar Technologies showed more than a dozen trucks lined up outside Iran's Fordow nuclear facility just days before the US carried out its large-scale airstrikes.
Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies/AFP via Getty Images
Trump gave the green light to launch 75 precision-guided munitions, including bunker-buster bombs and more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles, against Fordow and two other Iranian nuclear sites early Sunday.
Iranian state media outlets have since claimed that the Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz sites were evacuated in the lead up to the strikes.
Iran hasn't officially disclosed how much damage was sustained in the attack.
Trump, for his part, hailed the strikes as a 'Bullseye!!!'
Satellite imagery appeared to show that the strikes had severely damaged — or destroyed — the Fordow plant and possibly the uranium-enriching centrifuges it housed.
'Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran,' Trump said in a Truth Social post. 'The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!'
Satellite imagery appeared to show that the strikes had severely damaged — or destroyed — the Fordow plant.
AP
Still, US defense officials have said they are working to determine just how much damage the strikes did as speculation mounted that Iran could have shifted uranium from the underground military complex.
'I wish the Israelis had moved quicker to disable Fordow,' David Albright, a former United Nations weapons inspector, told The Free Press in the wake of the attacks.
'It's still a mystery exactly what was in those trucks. But any highly enriched uranium at Fordow was likely gone before the attack.'
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC's 'Meet the Press' that he doubts Iran was able to move anything prior to the attacks but acknowledged 'no one will know for sure for days.'
'I doubt they moved it,' he said.
'They can't move anything right now inside of Iran. I mean, the minute a truck starts driving somewhere, the Israelis have seen it, and they've targeted it and taken it out.'
He added that US officials believe a significant amount of Iran's stockpile of 60% uranium had been located in the Isfahan facility when it was targeted.
'Our assessment is we have to assume that that's a lot of 60% enriched uranium buried deep under the ground there in Isfahan,' he said.
Rubio didn't specifically mention Fordow or Natanz but said Iran should now bring its stockpile 'out of the ground and turn it over.'
'That really is the key,' Rubio said. 'Multiple countries around the world will take it and down blend it. That's what they should do with that.'
With Post wires

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