Posted on 07/11/25
| News Source: Arutz-7
A senior Israeli official on Thursday expressed concern that deeply buried stocks of enriched uranium at one Iranian nuclear facility, targeted by recent US military strikes, may still be retrievable, The Associated Press reported.
This assessment widens the view on the damage inflicted by last month’s strikes, in which the United States intervened in Israel's conflict with Iran to counter the threat of a nuclear weapons program.
The senior Israeli official, speaking anonymously, stated that Israel believes Iran's enriched uranium was distributed across the three sites and had not been relocated. The official added that while the enriched uranium at Isfahan could potentially be retrieved, it would necessitate a "very difficult recovery effort."
Meanwhile, officials from the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency, responsible for designing the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs used against Fordow and Natanz, indicated they are still awaiting data to determine if the munitions reached their intended depths.
US President Donald Trump has previously stated that Iran's key nuclear facilities were "obliterated" following last month's air strikes.
The Pentagon has previously indicated that the strikes set back Iran's nuclear program by at least two years.
Earlier this week, France's foreign intelligence chief, Nicolas Lerner, stated that Iran's nuclear program has been "very, very delayed" by the American and Israeli strikes.
Lerner urged continued "caution," particularly concerning the unknown whereabouts of Iran's stockpiles of highly enriched uranium and the potential for Tehran to pursue a clandestine nuclear program. He noted, "There's consensus on the fact that the material -- the 450 kilograms of enriched uranium -- maybe a small part was destroyed, but that material remains in the hands of the regime."
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a recent interview, claimed the US airstrikes severely damaged his country's nuclear facilities, preventing access for damage assessment. Pezeshkian stated Iran's willingness to resume cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog but added that it cannot yet guarantee unfettered access for inspectors.
"We stand ready to have such supervision," Pezeshkian said, according to AP. "Unfortunately, as a result of the United States’ unlawful attacks against our nuclear centers and installations, many of the pieces of equipment and the facilities there have been severely damaged."