Israel Warns Iran Might Retrieve Uranium From Bombed Isfahan Facility: 'Difficult But...'

Last Updated:July 11, 2025, 19:23 IST

An Israeli official warned Iran might retrieve enriched uranium from the Isfahan facility hit by US missiles.

Israel PM Netanyahu and Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei (Image: AP)

A senior Israeli official warned that Iran may try to retrieve enriched uranium buried beneath a nuclear facility struck by US cruise missiles last month but said any such attempt would likely trigger renewed Israeli military action.

The official said, as per BBC, that Israeli intelligence suggests Iran stored a significant quantity of enriched uranium beneath the Isfahan facility, one of three nuclear sites targeted during Operation Midnight Hammer- US strike operation carried out on June 22.

“Reaching the uranium would be extremely difficult but if they try, it won’t go unnoticed and it would have consequences," the official said, adding that Israel believes Iran’s nuclear program has been set back by two years.

Disagreement Over Scope Of Damage From US Strikes

US President Donald Trump, who ordered the strikes, has repeatedly claimed that the attacks “obliterated" Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. A White House spokesperson said, in a recent statement, “Operation Midnight Hammer totally obliterated Iran’s nuclear facilities. The entire world is safer thanks to his decisive leadership."

However, US intelligence agencies have taken a more cautious view as a leaked Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report indicated that although the sites at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan were severely damaged, they were not completely destroyed. CIA Director John Ratcliffe said that the attack on Iran’s only facility capable of producing metallic uranium- a key component in the development of nuclear weapons- had crippled Iran’s nuclear weaponization efforts.

Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

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