Iranians ‘moved enriched uranium before US strikes'

Telegraph

4 hours ago

Iran claims to have smuggled almost all of the country's highly enriched uranium to a secret location before the United States launched strikes on its nuclear bases.
Donald Trump dispatched seven B-2 stealth bombers from American soil to drop massive bunker-busting bombs on three enrichment facilities, Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, on Saturday night, in an effort to pummel Tehran's nuclear programme.
Following the strikes, Mr Trump on Sunday said the US took the bomb 'right out of Iran's hands'.
In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: 'We had a spectacular military success yesterday, taking the 'bomb' right out of their hands.'
His defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, said Iran's nuclear ambitions had been 'obliterated'.
But officials believe that most of the material at Fordow, 400kg of 60 percent enriched uranium, had been moved elsewhere before the attack codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer.
Satellite images of convoys leaving all three sites in recent days appeared to support Iran's claims that it moved its 400kg stockpile – much of it previously held at Isfahan.
One image, released by Maxar Technologies, a US defence contractor, appeared to show a line of 16 trucks snaking down a road near to the entrance of the Fordow plant on June 19, which is concealed with earth and rubble.
Trucks, bulldozers and security convoys appeared to swarm Fordow, with analysts suggesting the image revealed a 'frantic effort' to move centrifuges or shielding materials, according to TS2 Space, a Polish defence firm.
Other images showed that Natanz, Iran's largest enrichment site, had already been damaged by extensive Israeli strikes.
This means Iran could still possess the material needed to develop a nuclear weapon, although this would be several years away and dependent on Tehran's ability to rebuild vital equipment.
Ronen Solomon, an Israeli intelligence analyst, told The Telegraph that even if Iran had moved its uranium, it would be 'like having fuel without a car', adding: 'They have the uranium, but they can't do a lot with it, unless they have built something we don't know about on a small scale.'
Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to the supreme leader, said: 'Even assuming the complete destruction of the sites, the game is not over, because enriched materials, indigenous knowledge, and political will remain intact.'
Uranium enrichment is the process of increasing the concentration of the uranium-235 isotope in natural uranium.
To build a nuclear weapon, uranium must be enriched to about 90 per cent U-235. Once enriched to that level, the material is considered 'weapons grade'.
Iran enriches uranium using centrifuges, which spin uranium hexafluoride gas at high speeds to separate the uranium isotopes, increasing the concentration of U-235.
This process, called centrifuge enrichment, is done in stages called cascades. Iran has been progressively installing more advanced centrifuges, like the IR-2m and IR-6 models, which are faster and more efficient than the older IR-1 centrifuges.
The more advanced the centrifuge, the faster and more efficiently it can separate uranium-235 from uranium-238 and in turn, speed up the time needed to make a nuclear bomb.
Iran's current centrifuge capacity could allow it to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a bomb in less than two weeks, according to the Arms Control Association.
It is transported inside steel cylinders, specially designed to withstand significant pressure and temperature changes, according to the World Nuclear Association. The cylinders are then placed inside an extra level of protective casing, called an overpack, and can be transported via rail, road and sea.
Iran produces most of its near weapons-grade material at Fordow, its most heavily fortified nuclear facility, buried deep within a mountain, and considered a high-value target for America.
The base, reportedly shielded by half a mile of rock, could only be penetrated by the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators or MOP, weapons experts said prior to the attack.
The bunker-busting MOPs are the largest and most powerful conventional bombs in the US arsenal.
As of May 17, Iran has amassed 408.6kg (900.8 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent, a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found.
It was an increase of 133.8kg (294.9 pounds), or almost 50 per cent, since the IAEA's last report in February.
JD Vance, the US vice-president, appeared to confirm the suggestion that the material had been moved at the 11th hour.
'We're going to work in the coming weeks to ensure that we do something with that fuel,' he told ABC News.
On Saturday, stealth pilots pummelled Iran's nuclear programme with 14 GBU-57 bombs, each weighing 30,000lbs, while a US submarine launched a further two dozen Tomahawk missiles.
In a televised address to the US a few hours later, Mr Trump said the strikes had 'completely and totally obliterated' three of Iran's nuclear sites – and warned of worse to come.
'This cannot continue. There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,' he added.
The full extent of the damage inside Fordow remains unclear.
At a news conference on Sunday, Gen Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: 'Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction.'
Yet Two Israeli officials told the New York Times that their initial analysis suggested the fortified site at Fordow had sustained serious damage but had not been completely destroyed.
They also said Iran appeared to have moved equipment and uranium away from the site.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told CNN that it was not yet possible to assess the damage done underground.
A senior Iranian source told Reuters that most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordow had been moved elsewhere before the attack. Reuters could not immediately corroborate the claim.