No trace of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile: French intelligence chief

France's top intelligence officer said that Iran's nuclear program has been badly damaged by US and Israeli airstrikes, but it is still not clear where Iran's most dangerous uranium stockpiles are now stored.

Nicolas Lerner, the head of France's DGSE intelligence agency, gave this update during an interview on national television channel LCI. He said, "The Iranian nuclear program is the material, it is highly-enriched uranium, it is a capacity to convert this uranium from the gaseous phase to the solid phase. It is the manufacturing of the core and it is the delivery."

He said each part of Iran’s nuclear efforts -- like uranium enrichment and weapon assembly -- has been "very seriously damaged" due to the strikes. "The nuclear program, as we knew it, has been extremely delayed, probably many months," Lerner added.

UNCERTAINTY ABOUT IRAN’S URANIUM RESERVES

Despite the damage to Iran's nuclear facilities, Lerner warned that some parts of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile remain in place. "A small part of Iran's highly-enriched uranium stockpile had been destroyed, but the rest remained in the hands of the authorities," he said.

He admitted that France does not know for sure where all the uranium is stored. "Today we have indications (on where it is), but we cannot say with certainty as long as the IAEA does not restart its work. It's very important. We won't have the capacity to trace it (the stocks)," he stated, referring to the Atomic Energy Agency.

Other intelligence reports also say Iran still has a secret uranium stockpile and the ability to rebuild its nuclear program. Lerner echoed these warnings, saying Iran could restart a hidden program with smaller facilities. "That's why France is so attached to finding a diplomatic solution to this nuclear crisis," he said.

IRAN SAYS DIPLOMACY IS STILL AN OPTION

Meanwhile, Iran has also shown interest in diplomacy. On Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that he and Donald Trump's special envoy were close to reaching a nuclear agreement before the conflict between Israel and Iran escalated.

In an opinion piece published in the Financial Times, he wrote, "In just five meetings over nine weeks, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and I achieved more than I did in four years of nuclear negotiations with the failed Biden administration. We were on the cusp of a historic breakthrough."

He revealed that they were only 48 hours away from a sixth and final meeting when Israel launched airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear and missile sites on June 13.

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With inputs from Reuters