New Delhi: Concerns are mounting in global security circles after the United States revealed that a 400-kilogram stockpile of enriched uranium, previously stored in Iran’s nuclear facilities, is now unaccounted for following recent US airstrikes. The missing stockpile, enriched to 60%, is just short of weapons-grade level (90%) and, according to US Vice President JD Vance, could potentially be used to manufacture up to 10 nuclear bombs.
The revelation comes days after a high-stakes American military operation in which B-2 Spirit bombers deployed six 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs on three of Iran’s major nuclear facilities — Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. These sites were believed to house key components of Tehran’s nuclear programme. However, new satellite imagery suggests the uranium may have been moved shortly before the strike.
Prior to the attack, satellite photos captured a convoy of 16 trucks lined up outside the Fordow facility, which is carved deep into a mountain and designed to withstand most aerial bombardments. Post-strike images showed the facility severely damaged, but the trucks had vanished. While US and Israeli officials suspect these vehicles carried uranium and critical equipment to a hidden location, the exact contents and destination remain unknown.
Israeli intelligence shared with The New York Times claims the stockpile and associated machinery were likely relocated as part of a strategic maneuver. The timing, just days before the US offensive, has added urgency to international calls for transparency and access.
Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), warned that the agency had not been able to inspect the affected sites since before Israel’s initial assault on Iran earlier this month. In a briefing to the United Nations Security Council, Grossi emphasized the need to resume inspections immediately to ensure the missing uranium has not been diverted for weaponisation.
“Military escalation makes our job harder and pushes diplomacy further away,” Grossi said, urging restraint and renewed dialogue.
The discovery of the missing uranium has raised fresh concerns about the true intent behind Iran’s nuclear program. While Tehran has consistently maintained its activities are for peaceful, civilian purposes, Israel argues Iran is on the brink of developing nuclear weapons and had crossed a “point of no return.”
Iran responded with defiance following the airstrikes. Deputy Foreign Minister Takht Ravanchi dismissed suggestions that Iran would abandon its nuclear plans. He also warned that Tehran could consider withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a key international agreement aimed at curbing nuclear weapons proliferation.
“No one can dictate what we should or shouldn’t do,” Ravanchi said, underlining Iran’s right to develop its nuclear programme on its own terms.
Meanwhile, the American position on Iran’s nuclear capability appears increasingly muddled. According to a CNN report last week, US intelligence assessments initially concluded that Iran was not actively building nuclear weapons and was still at least three years away from doing so. However, the narrative shifted after President Donald Trump publicly challenged that assessment.
Tulsi Gabbard, the US Director of National Intelligence, who earlier testified before Congress that Iran was not pursuing a bomb, reversed her stance this week. “Iran could be weeks away from building nuclear weapons,” she said Saturday — a shift that came after Trump labeled her earlier briefing “wrong.”
President Trump has hailed the recent strikes as a resounding success, claiming that Iran’s nuclear infrastructure has been “completely and totally obliterated.” The 37-hour operation involved seven stealth bombers flying non-stop from Missouri, deploying bunker busters and decoy Tomahawk missiles.
In a combative address, Trump issued Tehran a two-week deadline to return to the negotiating table and agree to new nuclear safeguards. The President has framed the operation as a preemptive action to neutralise a looming threat and reassert American global leadership.
While Washington celebrates a tactical military success, the mystery surrounding the missing uranium casts a long shadow. Without clear confirmation of its location and security, fears of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East remain high. The IAEA is pushing for urgent access, but whether Iran will cooperate amid growing tensions is uncertain.
With conflicting narratives, diplomatic pressure mounting, and global stakes higher than ever, the coming days will be crucial in determining whether the world steps back from the brink — or stumbles into a deeper nuclear crisis.
