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(This post is also available on our Instagram) US officials are providing conflicting accounts about whether Iran successfully moved a significant portion of its enriched uranium before American airstrikes targeted its key nuclear facility at Fordow.
The conflicting reports are being fueled by satellite imagery showing unusual activity at Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility in the days leading up to the US airstrikes. High-resolution images captured by Maxar Technologies revealed at least 16 cargo trucks parked near the tunnel entrance of the heavily fortified site, with vehicle movements recorded over 24 hours. This activity has sparked speculation that Iran may have moved a significant portion of its enriched uranium (specifically the 400 kilograms enriched to 60% purity) to an undisclosed location.
According to the New York Times, Israeli intelligence is reportedly leaning toward the conclusion that Iran relocated both uranium and critical equipment. This view is supported by comments from IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, who said it’s likely that the uranium had been moved before the strikes.
According to some reports, the US & Israel chose not to strike the trucks so they could track them.
Despite all of this, other US officials have issued contradictory assessments. Senator Markwayne Mullin, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, publicly dismissed the claims and said that US intel believes the uranium was still inside Fordow at the time of the attack. Mullin argued that Iranian officials considered the facility (located 300 feet beneath a mountain) impenetrable. He maintained that the strike had either destroyed or severely damaged the nuclear material and infrastructure inside, though he acknowledged the full extent of the destruction is still under review.
This comes as Vice President JD Vance told ABC that the US does not yet know the precise location of the uranium. In the interview, Vance said that the US intel community would be working in the coming weeks to determine what happened to the fuel, which he said was enough to build up to ten nuclear weapons. He added that it’s “one of the things that we’re going to have conversations with the Iranians about.”
