In response to US strikes on Iran’s nuclear program over the weekend, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday he was not aware of any evidence indicating Iran had transported any of its highly enriched uranium.
“I haven’t come across any intelligence that indicates that anything was moved or otherwise not where it should have been,” Hegseth stated.
Following the strikes, a number of experts warned that Iran probably moved a stockpile of highly enriched uranium that was almost weapons-grade out of Fordow prior to the early Sunday morning strike, and that it might be concealing it at locations that Israel, the US, and UN nuclear inspectors are unaware of, along with other nuclear components.
On Thursday and Friday, they observed “unusual activity” at Fordow, with a huge line of cars waiting outside a facility door, according to satellite footage from Maxar Technologies.
Prior to the US strike, the majority of the 60% highly enriched uranium, which is almost weapons-grade, had been transferred to a secret location, a senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday.
During a news briefing, Hegseth made remarks refuting those allegations and charged that the media was underplaying the effectiveness of the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear program. This came after a preliminary Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessment was leaked, indicating that the strikes might have merely delayed Iran’s nuclear development by a few months.
Citing CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Hegseth stated that the DIA assessment was of “low confidence” and added that more recent intelligence showed Iran’s nuclear program had been seriously harmed by the recent US strikes and would require years to repair.
