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 

CIA Director John Ratcliffe told US lawmakers that the strikes successfully destroyed Iran’s only metal conversion facility, a key component of its nuclear development infrastructure. He said the setback could take Iran years to overcome. Ratcliffe added that US intelligence believes the majority of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile likely remains buried under the rubble at Fordow and Isfahan. 

 

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.