In Bombed Facilities, Unstable Tunnels, US' Toughest Uranium Extraction Yet

The latest round of tensions was triggered by remarks from US President Donald Trump, who said Washington would secure Iran's enriched uranium stockpile, described as 'nuclear dust' buried by US strikes. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei issued a categorical denial, saying Iran's enriched uranium is not going to be transferred anywhere. The article also notes that key storage sites such as Isfahan and Natanz have been heavily damaged by airstrikes and that inspectors have not visited these locations for nearly a year, creating uncertainty about the material's condition and location. Any prospective agreement would likely require intrusive inspection rights to verify removal and destruction claims.

Prior to the US and Israeli strikes in June 2025, the International Atomic Energy Agency estimated that Iran possessed roughly 441 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% and about 200 kilograms enriched to 20%. The 60% material could be further enriched to 90% within weeks, highlighting the level of proliferation concern.

The 2015 nuclear agreement involved shipping more than 11 tonnes of Iranian uranium enriched up to 20% to Russia in exchange for sanctions relief, capping Iran's stockpile at 300 kilograms of low-enriched uranium. The deal began to unravel after Washington withdrew in 2018.

A similar mission in 1998 saw US and British experts remove highly enriched uranium from a research reactor near Tbilisi, Georgia. The material was flown to Scotland under tight security.

The United States conducted Project Sapphire to remove approximately 600 kg of weapons-grade uranium from Kazakhstan. Over several weeks, teams repackaged material into hundreds of specialized containers and flew it out on C-5 transport aircraft to Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, where it was downblended for civilian use.