Underground Race… Iran Mines the Road to Its Uranium Stockpile
Iran fears a potential U.S. military operation aimed at seizing its uranium stockpile.
According to the American network CNN, Iran has significantly intensified its efforts in recent weeks to secure its cache of near-weapons-grade uranium, deliberately collapsing tunnels and planting explosive mines at their entrances.
CNN cited five informed U.S. sources who stated that access to nearly half a ton of highly enriched uranium has now become more difficult, more dangerous, and more time-consuming than it was just one month ago, when U.S. President Donald Trump was publicly suggesting that he might order the American military to seize it.
The new fortifications established by Iran add another layer of complexity to the proposed agreement between the Trump administration and Tehran regarding the removal and destruction of the uranium. The move also raises questions about who would ultimately be responsible for carrying out the hazardous task of recovering it.
Iran’s diplomatic mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and the White House likewise did not immediately answer CNN’s inquiries.
Trump has repeatedly stated that securing these materials is a priority for the United States in the ongoing negotiations aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed.
According to a senior U.S. administration official who briefed reporters on the proposed agreement, both sides are gradually moving toward a deal that would require Iran to hand over its enriched uranium to the United States. The material would then be destroyed on-site and subsequently removed from the country, according to the official.
However, American and Iranian officials have offered conflicting accounts of the preliminary agreement, and its exact provisions remain unclear.
A draft version of the alleged agreement was leaked on Friday to a semi-official Iranian news agency, prompting an angry reaction from Trump on social media.
CNN further reported that, according to several sources, removing the enriched material would now be difficult and dangerous even for the Iranians themselves. The process would require heavy excavation equipment and extensive mine-clearing operations, making it both complex and hazardous.
Most of Tehran’s nuclear stockpile is believed to be located within collapsed tunnels at the Isfahan Nuclear Complex in central Iran, with additional quantities stored at other locations.
Trump has previously acknowledged the risks associated with forcibly recovering the uranium. During an appearance on Fox News in May, he expressed skepticism that Iranian authorities would be able to access and retrieve the buried nuclear material without being detected by U.S. intelligence agencies.
Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump said of the site: “We know exactly what is happening there. Nobody has gotten close to it yet.”
However, by publicly discussing the uranium as a potential target, the president may have inadvertently given Iran additional incentive to strengthen the protection of its strategic assets, according to two of the sources cited by CNN.
