TEL AVIV (Realist English). A senior Israeli official has said that Iran may still be able to recover enriched uranium stored deep underground at one of the nuclear facilities struck by the U.S. last month, suggesting that the damage inflicted in the air campaign may be less decisive than publicly claimed.
The statement comes amid ongoing evaluations of the effectiveness of the U.S. military strikes on three key Iranian nuclear sites: Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan. The operation, which marked a dramatic U.S. entry into Israel’s conflict with Iran, aimed to cripple Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure. Iran maintains that its program is solely for peaceful purposes.
U.S. President Donald Trump has insisted the strikes “obliterated” all three facilities. However, assessments from U.S. and international officials have been more cautious. A preliminary report by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) concluded that while the strikes inflicted “significant damage,” the sites were not completely destroyed.
Meanwhile, the U.S. manufacturer responsible for the “bunker buster” bombs used in the attacks said on Thursday it was still waiting for post-strike data to confirm whether the munitions fully penetrated their intended targets.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe has attempted to reassure lawmakers, saying the strikes destroyed Iran’s only metal conversion facility—critical for weaponizing enriched uranium—and significantly disrupted nuclear operations. According to Ratcliffe, the U.S. intelligence community believes that most of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile remains buried beneath rubble at the Fordo and Isfahan complexes.
The mixed signals underscore the uncertainty surrounding the immediate impact of the strikes and the long-term consequences for Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
