Israel sees potential uranium recovery from Iran’s struck nuclear site

Israel has voiced concern that Iran could attempt to retrieve enriched uranium from one of the three nuclear facilities targeted during a US strike last month. A senior Israeli official stated that recovering the uranium buried beneath Isfahan would be extremely challenging. He warned that any such move by Iran would prompt another military response from Israel.

On June 22, the United States carried out missile strikes on Iran’s nuclear facility in Isfahan as part of “Operation Midnight Hammer.” While President Donald Trump claimed the attacks “completely destroyed” the nuclear sites, US intelligence agencies have adopted a more cautious assessment.

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told the BBC, “President Trump has said several times that Operation Midnight Hammer completely destroyed Iran’s nuclear sites. Because of his strong leadership, the world is now much safer.”

Iran, however, has denied allegations of building nuclear weapons and said its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful purposes. In an interview with hardliner Tucker Carlson, Iranian President Mahmoud Pezeshkian said, “The facilities are badly damaged, and we cannot even reach them.”

He also said, “It is not possible to fully assess the damage right now.”

The Israeli official further said that Iran’s nuclear program has been delayed by at least two years and any attempt to recover the program will likely be detected.

A leaked report from the US Defense Intelligence Agency said that although the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites were “severely damaged,” they were not “completely destroyed.” CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Congress that the destruction of Iran’s only uranium metal production center has effectively ended its ability to make nuclear weapons.

Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told CBS, “These facilities have been significantly damaged, but some parts are still intact. To be clear, we cannot say that everything has been destroyed.”