WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
Initial intelligence received by European governments suggests that Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium remained largely intact after the US strikes on key nuclear facilities, two officials said.
The information suggests that the 408 kilograms of uranium enriched to levels close to weapons-grade was not at Fordow, one of Iran's key enrichment facilities, at the time of last week's attack. The material was reportedly previously distributed to multiple locations
The findings cast doubt on US President Donald Trump's claim that the bombing "wiped out" Iran's nuclear program. Trump wrote on Truth Social today, apparently referring to Fordow: "Nothing was taken out of that facility. It would have taken too long, too dangerous, and too hard to move!"
"Fordo not destroyed"
The same sources said European governments were still waiting for detailed intelligence on the true extent of the damage at Fordow, a facility built deep under a mountain near the holy city of Qom. An early assessment said the damage was "extensive but not complete - the structure has not been destroyed."
Iranian authorities said uranium stockpiles had been moved before the US bombing, which followed days of Israeli strikes on targets in Iran.
The US on Sunday used specially designed bunker-busting bombs to target Fordow and Natanz, Iran's other major uranium enrichment facility. At the same time, cruise missiles were fired at a third facility - Isfahan, which is used for nuclear fuel conversion and storage. Trump also dismissed a provisional US intelligence assessment reported by US media that suggested Iran's program had been set back by only a few months.
On the other hand, the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission has stated that the joint US-Israeli attacks have "significantly set back Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons - by several years".
But experts warn that if Iran still possesses key stocks of enriched uranium and has advanced centrifuges in hidden locations, it still has the capacity to produce the fissile material needed to make nuclear weapons.
IAEA: Claims of complete destruction are exaggerated
Raphael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told French radio that Iran's nuclear program has "suffered enormous damage", but that claims of its complete destruction are exaggerated.
Iran insists that its program has exclusively civilian, peaceful purposes.
Fordow has been the main facility for enriching uranium to 60 percent purity, which is just one step towards the level needed for nuclear weapons. Experts say the disputed stockpile of 408 kilograms of 60 percent enriched uranium was distributed between Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan before the conflict broke out, when Israel declared war on Iran on June 13. Iran's total stockpile of enriched uranium exceeds 8,400 kilograms, but most of the material is enriched to lower, technologically less dangerous levels.
