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Business Standard
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Israel says Iran could recover enriched uranium at nuclear site hit by US
Israel believes that deeply buried stocks of enriched uranium at one of Iran's nuclear facilities, which was hit by the US military last month, could potentially be recovered, according to a report by Associated Press. Meanwhile, the US agency responsible for designing the bunker buster bombs used in the strikes said it is still awaiting data to determine whether the munitions penetrated deep enough to reach their intended targets. These parallel assessments have widened the scope of debate over the true impact of the strikes, carried out as the US inserted itself in Israel's conflict with Iran to prevent Tehran from advancing its nuclear weapons capabilities. Nuclear sites struck in coordinated operation Last month, US warplanes targeted three of Iran's major nuclear sites — Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan — with the objective of weakening the country's nuclear programme. The strikes involved the use of B2 stealth bombers to deliver powerful GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs, which are specifically designed to destroy fortified underground facilities. US President Donald Trump has insisted that the strikes obliterated the sites. However, international observers and initial US intelligence assessments have presented a more cautious picture. The US Defense Intelligence Agency, in its preliminary report, concluded that the strikes caused 'significant damage' to the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites in Iran, but fell short of destroying them entirely. Metal conversion facility destroyed, uranium buried Israeli nuclear experts raise questions According to the report, Israel believes Iran had distributed its enriched uranium stockpiles across the three sites and had not relocated them prior to the strikes. However, nuclear and nonproliferation experts have warned that Iran might have the stockpiles to safer locations in anticipation of a US military strike, especially as Israeli attacks escalated last month. While Israeli officials suspect uranium remains at Isfahan, experts say any attempt by Iran to retrieve it would require a highly complex and difficult recovery effort. Trump administration insists strikes were decisive Trump and his top administration officials have dismissed any suggestion that the strikes fell short of their objectives. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reiterated Trump's view, stating that the targeted nuclear facilities were destroyed. However, officials from the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency which spent decades developing the GBU-57 bunker buster bombs acknowledged that it is still unclear whether the bombs reached the depths they were designed for. Iran admits major damage but delays IAEA access Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a recent interview, said the US airstrikes inflicted such extensive damage that Iranian authorities have yet to access the targeted nuclear facilities to assess the full extent of the destruction. Pezeshkian expressed willingness to resume cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but said Iran could not yet guarantee inspectors unfettered access to the affected sites. 'We stand ready to have such supervision,' he said, 'but as a result of the United States' unlawful attacks against our nuclear centres and installations, many of the pieces of equipment and the facilities there have been severely damaged.' IAEA confirms major damage, but capability remains Rafael Grossi, director-general of the IAEA, mentioned late last month that the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan sites had been 'destroyed to an important degree' in terms of their uranium treatment, conversion, and enrichment capabilities. However, he warned that Iran retains the capacity to restart those activities. 'Because capabilities remain, if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again,' Grossi said, adding that the IAEA's ability to fully assess the damage hinges on Iran allowing inspectors access to the sites.
Mint
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Some of Iran's enriched uranium survived American ‘bunker buster' bomb attacks: Israel
An Israeli official claimed that some of Iran's underground stockpile of near-bomb-grade enriched uranium survived American and Israeli attacks last month. 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.
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First Post
01-07-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Trump to host Netanyahu at White House next week amid Gaza ceasefire push
President Donald Trump is set to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House next Monday, according to reports. The visit comes as Trump intensifies efforts to push for a ceasefire in Gaza. read more President Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House next Monday, news agency AP reported citing US officials. The visit hasn't been officially announced yet, and the officials briefed about the visit on condition of anonymity. The meeting comes as Trump steps up efforts to push Israel toward a ceasefire deal in Gaza and a possible hostage release. Earlier this week, Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer was in Washington to hold talks with senior US officials on Gaza, Iran, and related issues. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump has recently said he is focusing on ending the conflict between Israel and Hamas, especially after a ceasefire between Israel and Iran took effect last week. On Friday, he told reporters, 'We think within the next week we're going to get a ceasefire' in Gaza, but gave no further details. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that the Trump administration is in constant contact with Israeli leaders and ending the war in Gaza is a top priority. 'It's heartbreaking to see the images coming out of both Israel and Gaza. The president wants to end the war and save lives,' she said. Trump is also expected to show strong support for Netanyahu amid criticism from Democratic lawmakers and others questioning the impact of Israeli and US strikes on Iran's nuclear program. A US Defense Intelligence Agency report said the strikes caused serious damage to key Iranian nuclear sites—Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan—but did not completely destroy them. Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said on CBS' Face the Nation that the sites were significantly damaged, though some capabilities remain. He added that Iran could restart its nuclear work if it chooses, depending on whether it allows inspectors full access. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump has also stirred controversy by commenting on Netanyahu's ongoing corruption trial. Last week, he called the charges a 'WITCH HUNT' on social media and claimed the US would 'save' Netanyahu. His comments have sparked concern within Israel's political circles, as the case remains a deeply divisive issue. Meanwhile, the Trump administration on Monday approved a $510 million arms sale to Israel. The package includes over 7,000 bomb guidance kits known as JDAMs, used for precision airstrikes. While relatively small compared to the over $3 billion in annual US military aid to Israel, the deal helps replenish key supplies used in the war with Hamas and recent attacks on Iran. The State Department said, 'The United States is committed to Israel's security, and this sale supports that goal by helping Israel maintain a strong defense capability.'
NDTV
27-06-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Days After US Strikes, What We Know About Damage To Iran's Nuclear Program
Vienna: The big question following US and Israeli attacks on Iran's nuclear program is: What remains of it? US President Donald Trump has said three targets hit by American strikes were "obliterated." His defense secretary said they were "destroyed." A preliminary report issued by the US Defense Intelligence Agency, meanwhile, said the strikes did significant damage to the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan sites, but did not totally destroy the facilities. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said that as a result of Israeli and US strikes, the agency has "seen extensive damage at several nuclear sites in Iran," including those three. Israel claims it has set back Iran's nuclear program by "many years." Officials and experts are still assessing the damage, and their evaluation could change. Two of the major questions they are trying to address are where Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium is and what is the state of the centrifuges that enrich the fuel. The answer to the first is not clear, but the IAEA believes significant damage was done to centrifuges at the two enrichment facilities in Natanz and Fordo. The IAEA - and the world - want to know the state of both the uranium and centrifuges because if Iran chooses to make a nuclear weapon, then making the fuel required would be just a short, technical step away. Iran has always maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful. But it has enriched significant quantities of uranium beyond the levels required for any civilian use, and Israel launched strikes on nuclear and military targets on June 13, accusing Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons. The US joined that attack on Sunday, dropping 14 bunker-buster bombs on two sites. Iran retaliated with strikes on Israeli and American targets. Israel and Iran have since agreed to a ceasefire. Here's what we know - and don't know - about the state of Iran's nuclear program. It's possible the nuclear fuel was moved At least some of Iran's highly enriched uranium may have been moved before the US strikes, the assessment from the DIA suggests, according to two people familiar with the evaluation. The people were not authorized to address the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. That would mean that some of the stockpile may have survived. The assessment was preliminary and will be refined as new information becomes available, the agency has said. Its authors also characterized it as "low confidence," an acknowledgement that the conclusions could be mistaken. The White House has called the assessment "flat-out wrong," pointing to the power of the bombs to back up the president's characterization that the sites hit had been destroyed. Iran has previously threatened to hide its enriched uranium if attacked, and reiterated its pledge the day Israel launched its military campaign. Enriched uranium is stored in canisters that can be moved around fairly easy. In May, the IAEA, which is the UN nuclear watchdog, said Iran had amassed 408.6 kilograms (900.8 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60%. If it is further enriched to 90%, it would be enough to make nine nuclear weapons, according to the U.N.'s yardstick, though a weapon would require other expertise, such as a detonation device. Before the war, experts believe the stockpile was mainly stored in two places: underground tunnels at a facility in Isfahan, and in a heavily fortified underground enrichment site in Fordo. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Thursday that he was "not aware of any intelligence that I've reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be - moved or otherwise." Trucks seen at nuclear facility prompt speculation Satellite imagery showed trucks and bulldozers at the Fordo site beginning June 19, three days before the US struck. Eric Brewer, a former US intelligence analyst and now deputy vice president at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, said it's "plausible" that Iran used the trucks to take nuclear fuel away. But Jacob Kirkegaard, senior fellow at the Breugel think tank in Brussels, disagreed: "I think that that was a decoy more than anything else." Subsequent satellite imagery "revealed that the tunnel entrances into the underground complex had been sealed off with dirt prior to the U.S. airstrikes," said Stephen Wood, senior director at American satellite imagery and analysis firm Maxar Technologies. "We believe that some of the trucks seen on 19 June were carrying dirt to be used as part of that operation." Trump offered a similar explanation In a post on his Truth Social network on Thursday, he wrote: "The cars and small trucks at the site were those of concrete workers trying to cover up the top of the shafts. Nothing was taken out of facility. Would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!" Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that the bombs were dropped onto the two main ventilation shafts of Fordo. He said Iran attempted to cover the shafts with concrete before the U.S. attack, but the cap was "forcibly removed by the main weapon." Centrifuges are highly sensitive and vulnerable to damage Inspectors from the IAEA have remained in Iran throughout the war, but they are currently unable to inspect any nuclear sites due to safety concerns. But with the "explosive payload utilized, and the extreme vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges," the agency believes "very significant damage is expected to have occurred" as a result of U.S. airstrikes at Fordo, according to a statement from IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi to the agency's board earlier this week. The centrifuges there are "no longer operational," Grossi told Radio France Internationale on Thursday. Centrifuges are used to enrich uranium - and could eventually bring it up to weapons-grade levels, if Iran chooses to do so. Natanz, Iran's biggest enrichment site, also houses centrifuges. In its underground plant, the IAEA believes most if not all of the centrifuge cascades - groups of centrifuges working together to more quickly enrich uranium - were destroyed by an Israeli strike that cut off power to the site. Its aboveground plant has also been "functionally destroyed," the agency said. Strikes also caused "extensive damage" at Isfahan, according to the IAEA, especially at the uranium conversion facility and the plant for making uranium metal that's vital to producing a nuclear bomb. What the damage means for Iran's program is disputed Much like Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Iran's nuclear program has been brought "to ruin." The Israel Atomic Energy Commission believes the recent strikes have set back Tehran's ability to develop an atomic weapon by years. Israeli officials have not said how they reached this assessment. The DIA assessment, however, suggested that Iran's nuclear program has been set back only a few months, according to the people familiar with it. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in an interview with Politico, limited his own evaluation to saying Iran was "much further away from a nuclear weapon today than they were before the president took this bold action." Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that Trump "exaggerated" the impact of the American strikes.
Perth Now
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
No intelligence Iran moved uranium: US defense chief
In an often fiery news conference at the Pentagon, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has insisted he is unaware of any intelligence suggesting Iran had moved highly enriched uranium out to shield it from US strikes on Iran's nuclear program. US military bombers carried out strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities early Sunday local time using huge 'bunker-buster' bombs. The results of the strikes are being closely watched to see how far they may have set back Iran's nuclear program. The conference was aimed at disputing a leaked preliminary assessment from the US Defense Intelligence Agency suggesting the strikes may have only hampered Iran by months, counter to President Donald Trump's claim of 'total obliteration'. It also gave Hegseth an opportunity to blast media that had reported the assessment. Several experts have cautioned that Iran likely moved a stockpile of near weapons-grade highly enriched uranium out of the deeply buried Fordow site before the strikes, and could be hiding it in locations unknown to Israel, the US and UN nuclear inspectors. They noted satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showing "unusual activity" at Fordow on Thursday and Friday, with a long line of vehicles waiting outside an entrance to the facility. A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday most of the 60 per cent highly enriched uranium had been moved to an undisclosed location before the attack. But Trump maintains it would have taken too long to remove anything. "The cars and small trucks at the site were those of concrete workers trying to cover up the top of the shafts. Nothing was taken out of (the) facility," Trump wrote on his social media platform, without providing evidence. The Financial Times, citing European intelligence assessments, reported that Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpile remains largely intact since it was not concentrated at Fordow. Hegseth's said the Defense Intelligence Agency assessment was 'low confidence', and, citing comments from CIA Director John Ratcliffe, said it had been overtaken by intelligence showing Iran's nuclear program was severely damaged and would take years to rebuild. Ratcliffe, Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held a classified briefing on the strikes on Thursday for all 100 members of the US Senate. Senators are expected to vote this week on a resolution that would require congressional approval for strikes against Iran, although the measure is not expected to be enacted. At the Pentagon news conference, Hegseth described the strikes as "historically successful." His comments came after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed victory in the 12 day war launched by Israel and vowed Iran would not surrender. During the news conference, Hegseth criticised the media for having an anti-Trump bias. "It's in your DNA and in your blood to cheer against Trump because you want him not to be successful so bad," Hegseth said. "There are so many aspects of what our brave men and women did that ... because of the hatred of this press corps, are undermined," he said. Trump praised Hegseth's news conference as: "One of the greatest, most professional, and most 'confirming' News Conferences I have ever seen!" During the press conference, Caine, the top US general largely stuck to technical details, outlining the history of the bunker-busting bombs used. Caine showed a video testing the bombs on a bunker like the ones struck on Sunday. Caine declined to provide his own assessment of the strike and deferred to the intelligence community. He denied being under any pressure to change his assessment to present a more optimistic view of the US strikes.
