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A preliminary information assessment provided to the European government shows that Iran’s highly rich uranium stockpile remains largely intact following our strike at major nuclear sites, two officials said.
People said the intelligence agency’s 408kg stockpile of uranium, which is close to weapons-grade levels, suggested that at the time of the attack last weekend, it was not concentrated in Fordow, one of its two main enrichment sites.
It was distributed in various other places, and ratings were found.
The findings raise questions about President Donald Trump’s claim that the bombing “decapitalized” Iran’s nuclear program.
In a clear reference to Fordow, the US president wrote on Thursday about his true social platform:
People said the EU government is still waiting for a full information report on the extent of damages to Fordow, built deep under the mountains near the sacred city of QOM, suggesting that one first report was “not extensive damages, but not total structural destruction.”
Iranian officials suggest that enriched uranium stockpiles had moved before US plants were bombed.
The US attacked Fordow and Natanz, Iran’s other major uranium enrichment facilities, on Sunday, using a massive bunkerbuster bomb. It launched a cruise missile at Isfahan, the third site used for fuel conversion cycles and storage.
Trump has rejected the interim US intelligence report rating leaked to US media, saying Iran’s nuclear program was repeated by just a few months.
The Israeli Atomic Energy Commission said this week that the US and Israeli strikes “retreated Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons over the years.”
However, experts warn that if Tehran holds stockpiles of enriched uranium and installs pre-centrifuges in hidden locations, it may still have the ability to produce the cleavage material needed by the weapon.
Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told French radio on Thursday that Iran’s nuclear program “has been heavily damaged,” but its allegations of total destruction were exaggerated.
Iran claims that its programme is for peaceful private purposes.
Fordow is the main site for enriching uranium from up to 60% purity, and is a little far from weapon grade. Experts said that before Israel began its war with Iran on June 13, a stockpile of 408kg of uranium, enriched at 60%, was kept in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
Iran’s total stockpile of uranium enriched over 8,400 kg, but most of it was enriched to low levels.
Satellite images of Foldo after the entrance to Sunday’s bombing shortennel appear to be sealed with Earth and holes, which could clearly be the entrance to the US 30,000 pound precision guided bunker buster. The access road also appears to be damaged.
Grossi said this week that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragci warned on June 13 that “Iran will adopt “special measures to protect nuclear equipment and materials.”
Grossi said inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog, which has not been able to visit the plants since Israel launched an attack on Iran, should be allowed to return to the site “most importantly, considering the uranium stockpile, including 408kg, which is 60% rich.”
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The US has not provided crucial information to EU allies regarding the remaining nuclear capabilities of Iran after the strike and withholds clear guidance on how it plans its future relationship with Tehran, three officials explained the debate.
People said the EU’s policy against Tehran had pending a new initiative from Washington in search of a diplomatic solution to the nuclear crisis.
The Trump administration had indirect negotiations with Tehran before the war, in hopes of a contract that would curb its nuclear activities.
Trump said Wednesday that Washington will talk to Tehran next week, but he also suggested that trade may not be necessary following the strike at Iran’s nuclear power plant.
“It’s totally unstable,” one of the people said. “At the moment, we haven’t done anything.”
