Senior Israeli official: Our intel shows Iran had not removed enriched uranium from sites targeted by US and Israel

A senior Israeli official says Israeli intelligence shows that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not removed from the three nuclear sites at Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan before they were struck by the US last month amid Israel’s 12-day war with Iran, and has not been moved since.

The stockpile of some 400 kg of uranium enriched to 60 percent stayed there, and was not removed, the unnamed official tells Reuters.

The official suggests, however, that the Iranians might still be able to gain access to the enriched uranium at Isfahan — where the International Atomic Energy Agency said the stockpile was believed to be located before the war — but that it would be very difficult to remove it.

Yesterday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel must build on the achievements of its operation against Iran’s nuclear program to ensure that the Islamic Republic cannot rebuild it.

“We need to formulate an enforcement program to prevent Iran from reviving the capabilities it had before [the war],” he said.

“The Iranians will try in every possible way to learn their lessons and recover,” he said. “The enemy is learning and preparing — and our challenge is to step up our abilities so that we are not taken by surprise.”