In recent weeks, Tehran has sharply stepped up its efforts to secure its stockpile of enriched uranium, the level of which is close to that required for the production of nuclear weapons. According to reports citing five sources familiar with U.S. intelligence data, Iran has deliberately collapsed tunnels and booby-trapped the entrances with explosive devices.
This is reported by the Israeli newspaper Maariv.
Access to nearly half a ton of highly enriched uranium (HEU) has now become far more difficult, dangerous, and time-consuming than it was just a month ago. At that time, President Donald Trump publicly hinted that he might order the U.S. military to seize the material. The new fortifications add another layer of complexity to the deal the Trump administration is seeking to advance in its relations with Iran, which involves the removal and destruction of the uranium. It also raises questions about which side will undertake the dangerous mission to retrieve it.
Trump has repeatedly stated that securing the nuclear material is a priority for the U.S. as part of negotiations to end the war and effectively reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blocked. According to a senior administration official who briefed reporters, the parties are nearing a deal that would require Iran to transfer enriched uranium to the U.S. The material would be destroyed on site and then removed. However, American and Iranian officials have presented conflicting versions of the agreement, and its exact terms remain unclear. A draft of the agreement was leaked to a semi-official Iranian news agency, prompting a furious reaction from Trump on social media.
Just don’t let anyone get their hands on it!
For the Iranians themselves, extracting the material has now become a dangerous task requiring heavy earth-moving equipment and demining. “If this report is accurate, it will certainly complicate the extraction of HEU,” said Scott Rocker, who headed the Office of Nuclear Material Disposal at the National Nuclear Security Administration from 2017 to 2021. According to him, the situation could give Iran an opportunity to disguise its efforts to comply with the agreement. If mediators “require Iran to transport all inventory to a central location for inspection and subsequent removal or dilution,” the responsibility for providing access to it and delivering the “full stockpile” will fall on Tehran. “But in such a scenario, I would fear that Iran would claim that part of the HEU cannot be retrieved,” Roker noted. “We would not have complete confidence that Iran would not be able to retain access to it in the future.”
It is estimated that most of the stockpile is located in the collapsed tunnels of the nuclear complex in Isfahan, with some at other sites. In mid-May, the U.S. military was ready to carry out an operation to seize the nuclear material, but deemed it too dangerous. Since then, Iran has only reinforced the fortifications at these sites. Trump acknowledged the dangerous nature of a forceful extraction of uranium. During a May appearance on Fox News, he expressed doubt that the Iranians would be able to quietly remove the buried material. “We know exactly what’s going on,” Trump told host Sean Hannity, adding that “no one has even come close to it.” Sources noted that the president’s public comments could have prompted Iran to better protect its assets.
Even if an agreement is signed in the coming week, technical negotiations will be required. The removal of uranium will require the deployment of a mobile facility from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Members of the U.S. negotiating team, Jared Kushner and Steve Whitecoff, visited the laboratory earlier this month. Experts will need a significant amount of time to complete the mission. Trump told reporters earlier this month that removing the material would take at least two weeks.
