Iran may still recover enriched uranium despite US strikes – Israel warns

A top Israeli official has warned that Iran could still access enriched uranium stored deep beneath one of the sites hit by recent US airstrikes, despite claims by former President Donald Trump that the facilities were destroyed.

In a briefing with American journalists, the unnamed official revealed that intelligence assessments point to the presence of enriched uranium buried at Isfahan—one of three Iranian nuclear facilities targeted in last month’s coordinated attack by US forces. The site was reportedly struck by submarine-launched cruise missiles as part of “Operation Midnight Hammer” on 22 June.

Retrieving the uranium would be an immense technical challenge for Iran, the official noted, adding that such an effort would likely trigger further Israeli military action.

The Israeli source also estimated that the US-led strikes have set Iran’s nuclear ambitions back by roughly two years. Still, there appeared to be no immediate concern over Iran recovering the material: “Any Iranian attempt to recover the material would probably be detected,” the official stated.

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Former President Trump has touted the strikes as a decisive success. “As President Trump has said many times, Operation Midnight Hammer totally obliterated Iran’s nuclear facilities,” said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly in a statement. “The entire world is safer thanks to his decisive leadership.”

Iran continues to reject accusations that it is pursuing nuclear weapons, maintaining that its uranium enrichment serves only civilian energy needs.

However, not all US agencies share Trump’s confidence. A leaked Defense Intelligence Agency assessment reportedly concluded that while the sites at Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan suffered extensive damage, they were not entirely wiped out.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe, speaking to lawmakers in June, emphasized the strategic blow delivered by the strike on Iran’s metallic uranium production site—deeming it a major setback to Tehran’s ability to produce a nuclear weapon.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, told CBS that while the attacks caused serious damage, “parts are still standing.”

“Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared, and there is nothing there,” Grossi said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Pezeshkian echoed that uncertainty in an interview with conservative US host Tucker Carlson, admitting that the facilities were “severely damaged.”

“Therefore we don’t have any access to them,” he said. “A full assessment is impossible for now.”

(BBC)