US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday dismissed reports that Iran had relocated its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to protect it from American airstrikes over the weekend targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“I’ve seen no intelligence indicating anything was moved, misplaced, or hidden,” Hegseth said at a press briefing, firmly denying speculation that Iran shielded key nuclear assets ahead of the attack.
Following the strikes, several analysts had warned that Iran likely transferred a significant portion of its near weapons-grade (60%) enriched uranium out of the Fordow facility before the operation early Sunday morning. These concerns were fueled by satellite images from Maxar Technologies showing unusual activity at Fordow — including a convoy of vehicles lining up at the entrance on Thursday and Friday.
A senior Iranian source, speaking to Reuters, confirmed that much of the enriched uranium was moved to a secret location prior to the strike.
Addressing the reports, Hegseth criticized the media for downplaying the effectiveness of the US operation. He pushed back against a leaked initial assessment from the Defence Intelligence Agency, which suggested the strikes may have only delayed Iran’s nuclear program by a few months.
Calling the DIA report a “low-confidence” assessment, Hegseth pointed to updated intelligence — backed by CIA Director John Ratcliffe — indicating that Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been “severely damaged” and would take “years to rebuild.”
