President Donald Trump stated that Iran’s nuclear materials remained in place at the sites struck by American forces, reinforcing comments made earlier in the day by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said there was no indication that Iran relocated its uranium stockpile ahead of the weekend’s military operation.
“Nothing was taken out of the facility. Would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!” Trump wrote.
Despite those assertions, The Financial Times reported Thursday that European officials believe Iran’s reserves of highly enriched uranium were not significantly damaged in the strikes.
According to the paper, which cited two individuals familiar with early intelligence findings, European governments believe that Iran’s 408 kilograms of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium were not primarily stored at the Fordow enrichment facility—one of the regime’s key nuclear sites—when the U.S. strikes took place.
Earlier Thursday, Hegseth held a briefing with reporters at the Pentagon, detailing the coordinated U.S.-Israel operation. As previously reported, he described the mission as a major blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
He credited Trump with reshaping the strategic landscape, saying the military action had “created the conditions to end the war, decimating – choose your word – obliterating, destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities.”
Hegseth also referred to statements by various American and foreign officials who confirmed that the operation inflicted serious damage on Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Reaffirming his position, Hegseth emphasized that he had not seen any evidence that Iran had relocated uranium to shield it from the strikes. “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,” Hegseth said.
He closed his remarks by underscoring the magnitude of the military achievement. “I hope, with all the ink spilled, all of your outlets find the time to properly recognize this historic change in continental security that other presidents tried to do, other presidents talked about,” he said, according to CNN. “President Trump accomplished it. It’s a huge deal.”

{Matzav.com}