Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpile remains largely intact following U.S. strikes on its main nuclear sites, European capitals believe, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
The newspaper, citing two people briefed on preliminary intelligence assessments, said European capitals believe Iran's stockpile of 408 kilogram of uranium enriched close to weapons-grade levels was not concentrated in Fordow, one of its two main enrichment sites, at the time of last weeken's attack.
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The Fordow nuclear site in Iran
(Photo: MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/Handout via REUTERS , SATELLITE IMAGE ©2025 MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES / AFP)
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Thf Fordow nuclear site in Iran
(צילום: MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/Handout via REUTERS , SATELLITE IMAGE ©2025 MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES / AFP)
"It had been distributed to various other locations, the assessments found," the Financial Times wrote.
U.S. President Donald Trump said nothing was moved from an Iranian nuclear facility, echoing his defense secretary who earlier on Thursday said he was unaware of any intelligence suggesting Iran had moved its uranium to shield it from U.S. strikes over the weekend.
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Pentagon slide showing the shafts at Fordow
(Photo: GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
"The cars and small trucks at the site were those of concrete workers trying to cover up the top of the shafts. Nothing was taken out of facility. Would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!," Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
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Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine during a Pentagon press conference on the U.S. strike on Fordow in Iran
(Photo: Andrew Harnik / Getty Images/AFP)
In his press conference earlier in the afternoon, Pete Hegseth said he ws not aware of any intelligence that indicated that things were not where they were supposed to be, moved or otherwise.
After the strikes, several experts autioned that Iran likely moved a stockpile of near weapons-grade highly enriched uranium out of Fordow before the strike early Sunday morning and could be hiding it and other nuclear components in locations unknown to Israel, the U.S. and U.N. nuclear inspectors.
They noted satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showing "unusual activity" at Fordow on Thursday and Friday, with a long line of vehicles waiting outside an entrance to the facility. A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday most of the near weapons-grade 60% highly enriched uranium had been moved to an undisclosed location before the U.S. attack.
Hegseth's comments denying those claims came at a news briefing where he accused the media of downplaying the success of U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear program following a leaked, preliminary assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency suggesting they may have only set back Iran by months.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Thursday it had not received an official communication from Iran about a parliamentary bill to suspend cooperation with it that according to media reports earlier in the day had received final approval. "We are aware of these reports. As of now, the IAEA has not received an official communication from Iran on this matter," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement.