Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: Days after the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities, American and Israeli intelligence agencies are scrambling to locate 400 kilograms of near-weapons grade uranium — enough to build up to 10 nuclear weapons — believed to have vanished before the airstrikes. Iran, meanwhile, maintains that it has taken “necessary measures” to protect its nuclear program, signaling the crisis is far from over.
Uranium May Have Been Relocated Before Strike
Sources close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told AFP that the nuclear game is “not over.” Satellite images and intel suggest that the enriched uranium, at 60% purity, was moved in specially designed crates — small enough to fit in car trunks — to an undisclosed underground facility, possibly near Isfahan, before US B-2 bombers dropped bunker-buster bombs on Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. While US Vice President JD Vance claimed the uranium might be buried under the rubble, Israeli officials admitted that a covert relocation likely occurred.
Iran Says Nuclear Plan Still Intact
Iran’s Atomic Energy chief Mohd Eslami assured on state TV that contingency measures were in place. “We are assessing damage and have plans to resume operations,” he said. Tehran remains defiant, stressing that the nuclear program is for peaceful use, even after threats from former US President Donald Trump, who warned of more strikes if Iran doesn’t agree to peace. Trump controversially claimed Iran is building nuclear weapons, directly contradicting his own Director of National Intelligence.
Ceasefire Undermined by Renewed Strikes
Despite a fragile ceasefire brokered by Trump, new missile strikes were reported on Tuesday by both Israeli and Iranian media. Explosions were heard in Tehran shortly after Trump publicly declared, “All planes will head home while doing a friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran.” However, reports from Israel’s Mizan News Agency confirmed that new hostilities had erupted, casting doubt over any lasting peace.
Diplomatic Chaos and Strategic Uncertainty
Trump, on his way to a NATO summit, vented frustration at both allies and adversaries. “They’ve been fighting so long and so hard they don’t know what the f**k they’re doing,” he told reporters before boarding his helicopter. The Biden administration has yet to comment officially, but international concern is mounting over the unknown whereabouts of the uranium stockpile.
