Key Points and Summary – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed this week that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not destroyed in the recent US and Israeli strikes and remains a significant concern.
-Speaking on Fox Business, Netanyahu stated that while the strikes degraded Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, its enriched uranium—a “necessary component” for a bomb—was not dealt with.
-An unnamed Israeli official later told Reuters that the uranium was likely not moved from the sites before the attack.
-The confirmation sharpens the ongoing debate over the long-term effectiveness of the strikes and raises the prospect of future military action to prevent Iran from reconstituting its program.
A Nightmare for Israel: Iran Still Has Its Enriched Uranium After ‘Obliterating’ Strikes
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week confirmed fears that Iran’s enriched uranium wasn’t recovered or destroyed in recent strikes. Speaking to Fox Business during his visit to the United States, Netanyahu said that he remains concerned about Iran’s supply of enriched uranium and indicated that more must be done to prevent Iran from restarting its nuclear program.
“The one thing that we didn’t deal with that we knew we didn’t deal with was the enriched uranium,” Netanyahu said.
“So it has to be made clear to them, and I think it has been, that they don’t get this enriched uranium.”
While Netanyahu said that having access to the enriched uranium wasn’t sufficient to restart the program or build a nuclear weapon, he described it as a “necessary component” that Iran shouldn’t possess.
So what does Israel plan to do? The Israeli prime minister didn’t specify during the interview, but did say that Israel wants the uranium “to be under control too.” His comments appeared to suggest that Israel is willing to engage in future military strikes, claiming that “the Iranians understand that what the US and Israel did once we could do twice, and thrice.”
Curiously, however, he also said that he believes Iran would not attempt to rebuild its nuclear program, despite multiple claims by Iranian officials in recent weeks that they are already doing exactly that.
Netanyahu claimed that Iran is “afraid” to restart the program.
So, Where is the Iran Uranium?
On Thursday, July 10, a senior Israeli official confirmed that Israeli intelligence shows Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not recovered from the Fordow, Natanz, or Isfahan sites before they were hit by U.S. bombs and missiles.
According to an unnamed official who spoke to Reuters, stockpiles of 400 kg of 60%-enriched uranium were not moved. The same source, however, suggested that the Iranians may still be able to gain access to the uranium.
The confirmation follows repeated suggestions from Washington that the uranium was likely buried. Immediately following the announcement of U.S. strikes on Israel’s nuclear sites, Vice President J.D. Vance told Fox News that he believed the uranium was likely to have been buried, though he failed to confirm at the time whether intelligence proved it to be true.
In recent weeks, reports also revealed how a combination of Israeli intelligence, open source intelligence, and satellite imagery suggested that the only vehicles seen at the nuclear sites before U.S. strikes were those of construction workers who were reportedly tasked with sealing entrances with concrete.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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