Israel has raised fresh concerns that Iran could attempt to recover enriched uranium buried beneath one of its nuclear facilities damaged during last month’s US-led airstrikes, potentially reigniting tensions in the already volatile region.
A senior Israeli official, speaking anonymously to US reporters during a briefing in Washington, revealed that intelligence assessments suggest enriched uranium may still be buried beneath the Isfahan facility—one of the three major nuclear sites hit during “Operation Midnight Hammer” on June 22.
The official acknowledged that retrieving the material would be “extremely difficult,” and warned that any effort by Tehran to do so would likely trigger a renewed Israeli military response. “We would not hesitate to act if Iran attempts to reconstitute its nuclear capabilities,” the official stated.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly asserted that the strikes “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities, echoing the White House’s confident tone.
“As President Trump has said many times, Operation Midnight Hammer totally obliterated Iran’s nuclear facilities,” said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly in a statement. “The entire world is safer thanks to his decisive leadership.”
However, that view is not unanimously shared across the US intelligence community. A preliminary report from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), leaked last week, indicated that while the Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan facilities were severely damaged, they were not entirely destroyed. According to the DIA, structural remnants and some underground chambers survived the strikes.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe told lawmakers in late June that the destruction of Iran’s only known site for producing metallic uranium had set back Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, but he stopped short of confirming their complete dismantlement.
Despite uncertainties about the extent of the damage, Israel’s assessment is that Iran’s nuclear programme has been pushed back by at least two years. The senior Israeli official expressed cautious optimism, noting that attempts to access any buried material at Isfahan would almost certainly be detected in time for a response.
International inspectors have offered their own assessments. Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told CBS that the three sites were “destroyed to an important degree,” but warned against assumptions of total elimination.
“Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there,” Grossi said, calling for continued inspections and international vigilance.
Iran continues to deny that it is seeking to build nuclear weapons, insisting its uranium enrichment programme is purely for peaceful energy purposes.
Speaking to conservative commentator Tucker Carlson earlier this week, Iranian President Mahmoud Pezeshkian acknowledged that the facilities were “severely damaged” and currently inaccessible.
“Therefore, we don’t have any access to them,” Pezeshkian said, adding that a full assessment of the damage could not yet be conducted due to ongoing recovery efforts.
While hopes remain that the strikes have at least delayed Iran’s nuclear progress, analysts warn that tensions could flare again if Tehran is seen to be rebuilding its programme—or attempting to retrieve any radioactive material from the rubble.
“The situation remains fluid,” said one Western diplomat. “The next few months will be critical in determining whether this operation achieved strategic deterrence or simply postponed an inevitable confrontation.”
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