- विज्ञापन -
In a dramatic twist to the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, US President Donald Trump announced a “total and complete” ceasefire on Monday, claiming victory after American forces launched devastating strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. But amid the diplomatic celebration and military posturing, one critical question continues to haunt analysts and officials alike: where is Iran’s highly enriched uranium? This question has taken centre stage in the wake of the US military’s bombing of three key Iranian nuclear facilities — Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
Trump proudly declared that these plants had been “completely and totally obliterated” using advanced bunker-busting bombs and precision missile strikes. However, the fate of Iran’s sensitive nuclear material — specifically its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 per cent purity — remains uncertain. Uranium enrichment is the process of increasing the percentage of uranium-235, the isotope needed to fuel nuclear reactions, by removing the more abundant but less reactive uranium-238. For nuclear power, enrichment typically stays below 5 per cent. But to produce a nuclear weapon, uranium must be enriched to 90 per cent — a threshold known as weapons-grade. Iran’s uranium stockpile enriched to 60 per cent sits alarmingly close to this line.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran had amassed over 408 kilograms of 60 per cent enriched uranium by May, up significantly from the 133 kilograms recorded in February. US officials estimate that such a quantity could be sufficient to produce as many as 10 nuclear weapons. Despite the apparent success of the US strikes, multiple intelligence sources now believe Iran may have secretly moved much of this material before the attack. With tensions between Tehran and Washington having escalated for weeks before the conflict erupted, it appears Iran anticipated a potential strike and took steps to hide its most valuable nuclear assets. Sima Shine, a former senior official with Israel’s Mossad, told the Financial Times that she was confident Iran had relocated the enriched uranium. “They have enough enriched uranium somewhere, and they took some advanced centrifuges somewhere, in order to enable them to some day go to a nuclear device,” Shine explained. “The programme is not destroyed completely, no matter what the Americans say.”
Her comments echo concerns voiced by two unnamed Israeli officials, who suggested that Iran had orchestrated a lastminute operation to secure its nuclear material. Satellite images taken two days prior to the US strikes support these claims. According to analysts at Polish defence firm TS2 Space, there was unusual activity at some sites, including the appearance of earth movers and dump trucks — possibly used to remove equipment or shield sensitive components. T h e L o n d o n – b a s e d Open Source Centre also analysed imagery, concluding that Iran appeared to be preparing for an attack. While the exact contents of the removed materials remain unknown, many suspect they included canisters of enriched uranium and possibly some centrifuge equipment. Rafael Grossi, DirectorGeneral of the IAEA, confirmed that his inspectors last saw the uranium a week before the American strikes.
He acknowledged that Iran had taken visible steps to safeguard the material, but stopped short of confirming whether it had been moved. Other nuclear experts are also concerned. Kelsey Davenport of the Arms Control Association pointed out how difficult it would be to trace the enriched uranium. “It will be difficult, if not impossible, to track down all of Iran’s 60 per cent enriched uranium, stored in small canisters that are easily transportable by car,” she said.
While President Trump was emphatic about the destruction of Iran’s nuclear programme, his senior officials have taken a more measured stance. Vice President JD Vance admitted that enriched uranium might still be under Iran’s control. “We are going to work in the coming weeks to ensure that we do something with that fuel,” he said, hinting at potential diplomatic or intelligence operations to locate the missing stockpile. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine, the new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also confirmed that the American strikes had caused severe damage to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. But they offered little clarity on whether any uranium had been destroyed in the process. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio went a step further, telling CBS News, “No one will know for sure for days” whether Iran managed to hide the material. “I doubt they moved it because you really can’t move anything right now,” Rubio said. “The minute a truck starts driving somewhere, the Israelis have seen it, and they’ve targeted it and taken it out.”
Still, others believe that even limited movement of uranium, particularly from hidden or dispersed facilities, is not only possible but likely, given Tehran’s track record of secrecy and resilience. So, does Iran still pose a nuclear threat? The answer is complicated. Even if enriched uranium remains in Iranian hands, the regime would need functioning centrifuges and appropriate infrastructure to weaponise it — much of which was reportedly destroyed in the recent airstrikes. Ronen Solomon, an Israeli intelligence analyst, likened the situation to “having fuel without a car.” In other words, Iran may have the material but lacks the means to immediately use it.
However, experts warn against complacency. If Iran has hidden advanced centrifuges, the country could potentially restart enrichment and weaponisation at undisclosed locations. “With 60 per cent enriched uranium and a few hundred advanced centrifuges, Iran still has the capability to weaponise,” Davenport noted.
Richard Nephew, a former US official involved in previous nuclear negotiations with Iran, summed it up: “It comes down to the material and where it is. On the basis of what we’ve seen at this point, we don’t know where the material is. We don’t have any real confidence that we’ve got the ability to get it any time soon.” The end of open hostilities may have brought temporary relief, but the mystery surrounding Iran’s enriched uranium remains unresolved. While American and Israeli strikes may have degraded Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, t h e possibility that Tehran still possesses key ingredients for a bomb keeps global tensions simmering just beneath the surface.
