Tehran fortifies uranium sites, complicating Trump's nuclear plans
Photo: Tehran has made it harder for the US to access uranium stockpiles (Getty Images)
Iran has significantly strengthened the protection of its enriched uranium stockpiles in recent weeks by collapsing tunnels and mining entrances, according to CNN.
According to five sources familiar with US intelligence assessments, accessing roughly half a ton of highly enriched uranium is now far more difficult and dangerous than it was a month ago.
At the time, US President Donald Trump publicly hinted that he could order American forces to seize the material.
The new fortifications complicate the implementation of a deal the Trump administration is preparing with Tehran that would involve removing and destroying the uranium. The question now is who would take on the dangerous task of extracting it.
Talks on transferring uranium to the US
The two sides are moving closer to an agreement under which Iran would hand over its enriched uranium to the United States.
Under the proposed plan, the material would be destroyed on-site and then removed from the country.
At the same time, US and Iranian officials have offered conflicting accounts of the preliminary agreement. A draft deal was leaked to a semi-official Iranian news agency on Friday, prompting an angry reaction from Trump on social media.
Why extracting the uranium has become more difficult
Even for Iran itself, recovering the material would now require heavy excavation equipment and extensive demining operations.
"If this reporting is true, it would definitely complicate … retrieving the HEU (highly enriched uranium)," said Scott Roecker, who headed the Office of Nuclear Material Removal at the US National Nuclear Security Administration from 2017 to 2021.
If negotiators require Iran to move all of its uranium to a single location for removal, Tehran could argue that part of the stockpile is no longer accessible.
"We wouldn’t have full confidence that Iran couldn’t retain access to it at some point in the future," Roecker added.
Where the uranium is stored
The international community believes most of the stockpile is located inside collapsed tunnels at the Isfahan nuclear complex in central Iran, while some material is stored at other facilities.
In mid-May, the US military reportedly prepared an operation to recover the material but concluded that the mission was too risky. Since then, Iran has further reinforced sites where the uranium may be stored.
Meanwhile, the United States has previously outlined conditions under which frozen Iranian assets could be released. The approach involves phased sanctions relief in exchange for specific steps by Tehran.
A scenario was also discussed in which the two sides would first conclude a temporary agreement before moving on to negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. That sequence was intended to give both parties time to prepare for more complex arrangements involving the uranium stockpile.
