US Faces Dilemma Over Iran’s Buried Enriched Uranium

Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium remains buried under damaged nuclear sites months after US and Israeli airstrikes, leaving Washington and its allies facing a difficult choice: attempt to secure the material or risk it eventually being recovered.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the material, which is estimated at about 440 kilograms enriched to up to 60 percent, is still inaccessible.

“Our nuclear facilities were attacked, and everything is under the rubble,” he told CBS. “For the time being, we have no program. We have no plan to recover them from under the rubbles.”

US officials weigh options for dealing with the stockpile, which remains one of the most sensitive unresolved issues in the conflict. President Donald Trump has said preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons is a central objective, but signaled that seizing the material is not an immediate priority.

“We’re not focused on that, but at some point we might be,” Trump told Fox News.

The material is believed to be located at deeply buried facilities, including sites at Isfahan and Natanz that were struck last year. Any operation would require securing the area, excavating damaged tunnels and safely handling radioactive material under threat of attack.

The urgency reflects the nature of the stockpile itself. While enriched to 60 percent, which is below the 90 percent typically considered weapons-grade, experts say most of the technical work has already been done. Additional enrichment to weapons-grade levels would require relatively limited time and capacity if Iran chose to proceed.

Before the strikes, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimated that Iran’s stockpile at that level represented a significant portion of the total enrichment work carried out by the country. Analysts note that the remaining step to weapons-grade is comparatively small.

For now, Iran says it has no plans to retrieve the material. Araghchi said any future recovery would only take place under international supervision. “If one day we come to the conclusion to do that, it would be under the supervision of the agency,” he added.

Still, the presence of the stockpile continues to shape strategic considerations in Washington. Officials have also raised the possibility of leaving the material in place while warning Tehran against any attempt to resume enrichment.

In the global context of nuclear markets, enrichment capacity is already under pressure. US domestic utilities are currently facing a potential supply gap as demand for nuclear energy rises and reliance on Russian enrichment services is set to end later this decade.

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) CEO Amir Vexler has warned that existing capacity may not be enough even for current reactors.

“It is my strong belief that there is a gap between supply and demand for the existing market,” Vexler told the Financial Times.

A parallel example is emerging in West Africa, where Niger’s military government is holding roughly 1,000 metric tons of uranium seized from a French-operated mine.

The material, stored at a military base in Niamey, has already become a security concern after the site was targeted in an attack by Islamic State militants earlier this year. Niger has said it intends to sell the uranium despite ongoing legal disputes and geopolitical pressure.

“We can sell to whoever we want,” mining minister Ousmane Abarchi said. “We are talking with the Russians. We are talking to the Chinese. We are talking to the Americans.”

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Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.