US–Israel bombed the nuclear sites, but not the nuclear threat: Iran still holds 400kg of enriched Uranium, enough to make 10 N-bombs

Time of India

24-06-2025

What happened during the strikes?
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Where did the Uranium go?
IAEA confirms last inspection was days before attack
Trump declares victory. But confusion follows
Is Iran still pursuing nuclear weapons?
Experts warn threat is not over
Washington admits uncertainty
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The US says it destroyed Iran's key nuclear sites last week. But 400kg of enriched uranium—enough to build up to ten atomic bombs—is still unaccounted for.Vice President JD Vance confirmed the missing material during an interview with ABC News, saying the administration 'would work in the coming weeks to do something about the fuel and would have conversations with the Iranians.'That fuel is enriched to 60%. It only takes enrichment to 90% to make a weapon.At the heart of the operation were six bunker-busting bombs , dropped by US B-2 Spirit bombers on three nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The attack came after satellite images showed a line of 16 trucks outside Fordow—a site built deep inside a mountain and resistant to most conventional strikes.Israel requested Washington use its most advanced bombers and GBU-37 bunker-buster munitions.The strikes reportedly caused 'severe damage and destruction,' according to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen Dan Caine.Trump later said on Truth Social: 'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran… A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home… NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!'That's the question no one can answer. Post-strike satellite images showed the trucks were gone.Israeli officials believe Iran managed to move the stockpile, and possibly some centrifuges, just before the attack. They shared this view with The New York Times.Sima Shine, a former Iran expert at Mossad, told the Financial Times: 'They have enough enriched uranium somewhere, and they took some advanced centrifuges somewhere, in order to enable them to some day go to a nuclear device… The programme is not destroyed completely, no matter what the Americans say.'TS2 Space, a Polish defence firm, reviewed satellite images and said Iran appeared to be shifting critical materials. The Open Source Centre in London also confirmed visual evidence of frantic movement days before the bombing.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it last saw the stockpile a week before Israel's first strike.Its Director-General, Rafael Grossi, addressed the UN Security Council and called for inspections to resume immediately. 'It is essential,' he said. He warned military escalation 'delays this indispensable work' and harms chances of a diplomatic solution.Kelsey Davenport, of the Arms Control Association, told AFP: 'It will be difficult if not impossible to track down all of Iran's 60 per cent enriched uranium, stored in small canisters that are easily transportable by car.'Hours after the strike, Trump told ABC News: 'We're not involved in it (but) it's possible we could…' and urged both Iran and Israel to 'reach an accord before it is too late.'Afterwards, he announced a 'total and complete' ceasefire and declared the 12-day conflict over.But the US intelligence community has since shown signs of uncertainty.Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, had told Congress earlier that Iran was not building nuclear weapons. But on Saturday, she reversed her position, saying Iran could produce them 'within weeks.' Trump had called her previous assessment 'wrong.'Tehran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful. But Israel claims otherwise, saying Iran was nearing a 'point of no return.'After the strikes, Iran threatened to leave the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Deputy Foreign Minister Takht Ravanchi was defiant: 'No one can tell us what to do…'A CNN report noted that Israel's first strikes likely only delayed Iran's nuclear programme by a few months. The deeper parts of the programme, particularly those buried under mountains like at Fordow, were not seriously damaged.Still, a senior official told CNN that 'Tehran does have all the necessary ingredients.'Ronen Solomon, an Israeli intelligence analyst, told The Telegraph: 'They have the uranium, but they can't do a lot with it unless they have built something we don't know about on a small scale.'But many experts remain cautious. 'With 60 per cent enriched uranium and a few hundred advanced centrifuges, Iran still has the capability to weaponise,' said Kelsey Davenport.Richard Nephew, a former US official on Iran policy, told Financial Times: 'It comes down to the material and where it is. On the basis of what we've seen at this point, we don't know where the material is. We don't have any real confidence that we've got the ability to get it any time soon.'US Secretary of State Marco Rubio admitted to CBS News, 'No one will know for sure for days' whether Iran managed to move the uranium.He added, 'I doubt they moved it because you really can't move anything right now. The minute a truck starts driving somewhere, the Israelis have seen it, and they've targeted it and taken it out.'But this contradicts what satellite images and intelligence officials suggest.Vice President JD Vance told ABC News that 'if the Iranians decide to expand this, then that's ultimately their decision. And the president of the United States will respond in kind.' He also stressed that Trump does not want 'a drawn-out conflict in the Middle East.'But the fact remains: Iran's uranium stockpile is missing.And while bombs have fallen, and statements made, one uncomfortable truth lingers.The most dangerous material in this crisis may still be out there—just hidden from view.