Saudi news outlet Al Hadath reported on Tuesday, citing an anonymous Israeli security source, that Israel “knows exactly” where Iran is keeping its stockpiles of enriched uranium.
The official who spoke to Al Hadath further claimed that “most of the enriched uranium is buried under the rubble in Iran."
The status of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium remained a matter of speculation among officials since Israel launched preemptive strikes, including on various Iranian nuclear facilities, in the 12-day war that began June 13. Such speculation continued following American strikes on Iran’s three main nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
IDF monitoring, but status of Iran’s enriched uranium remains unclear
Earlier this week, IDF Spokesperson Effie Defrin said the Israeli military is closely monitoring the possibility of Iran moving its enriched uranium from sites that are damaged or destroyed to other sites, in a response to a question asked during a press conference on Sunday.
Iran had claimed in the past it moved enriched uranium from Fordow to other sites, as reported by the New York Times. The NYT report added that 880 pounds of enriched uranium had been removed to 60% purity, below the 90% needed for nuclear weapons. Some 60% enriched fuel was stored at the nuclear facility in Isfahan.
Satellite imagery taken days before US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities showed trucks line up on the road adjacent to the facility, nestled in Iran’s mountains.
Vance gave no update on the status of Iran's stockpile post US strikes
US Vice President JD Vance was unable to confirm the status of Iran's stockpile in an ABC News interview after US President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes early on Sunday morning.
When asked about the status of Iran's 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium, Vance said that the Trump administration is "going to work in the coming weeks to ensure that we do something with that fuel, and that’s one of the things that we’re going to have conversations with the Iranians about."
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi previously noted that “Iran has made no secret that they have protected this material,” and that the fuel was last seen by his inspectors just before Israeli attacks on Iran.
After claiming Israel knows where the stockpiles are, the Saudi report quoted the official as saying that Israel will not target the stockpiles as to “avoid a nuclear catastrophe.”
To date, none of the Israeli attacks on nuclear facilities have been said to have caused a major, dangerous nuclear materials contamination event to Iranian civilians.