Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Jun 26: U.S. President Donald Trump has categorically rejected reports that Iran relocated enriched uranium from key nuclear facilities before recent American airstrikes, calling such claims “false” and “logistically impossible.”

Taking to Truth Social, Trump wrote, “The cars and small trucks at the site were those of concrete workers trying to cover up the top of the shafts. Nothing was taken out of the facility. Would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!”

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth backed the president’s position, stating at a Pentagon briefing, “I'm not aware of any intelligence that I’ve reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be, moved or otherwise.”

However, concerns remain after satellite images from Maxar Technologies showed 16 trucks outside Iran’s underground Fordo nuclear enrichment facility in the hours before the strike. Fordo, carved deep into a mountain, is considered one of Iran's most heavily fortified sites.

Israeli intelligence sources, quoted by The New York Times, suggested the trucks were used to move approximately 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity. The material was allegedly stored in small casks, which officials say could be transported in standard vehicles. Two sources claimed Iran had moved the uranium from Fordo and other facilities, anticipating airstrikes.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that its inspectors last saw the uranium stockpile before Israeli and U.S. military operations commenced. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi stated inspections had since been suspended due to what Iran called a wartime emergency.

A senior Iranian official, speaking anonymously to Reuters, acknowledged that a significant portion of the country’s highly enriched uranium had been transferred to a “secure and undisclosed” location as a precaution.

While Washington has downplayed these claims, international experts continue to express concern that the movement of nuclear material, if confirmed, could complicate future monitoring efforts and deepen mistrust between Tehran and the West.

The exact location of Iran’s uranium stockpile remains unknown. Iranian authorities have so far refused to confirm or deny the allegations, fueling ongoing speculation about the country’s nuclear intentions amid rising regional tensions.