WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration hit back on Wednesday (Jun 25) at accounts Iran may have moved enriched uranium before US bombing, as a row grew on how much the strikes set back Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Trump, seeking credit for ordering military action and then quickly announcing a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, has lashed out angrily at media accounts of a classified report that doubted the extent of damage to Iranian nuclear sites.
Another key question raised by experts is whether Iran, preparing for the strike, moved out some 400kg of enriched uranium – which could now be hidden elsewhere in the vast country.
“I can tell you, the United States had no indication that that enriched uranium was moved prior to the strikes, as I also saw falsely reported,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News.
“As for what’s on the ground right now, it’s buried under miles and miles of rubble because of the success of these strikes on Saturday evening,” she said.
Vice President JD Vance, asked about the uranium on Sunday, had sounded less definitive and said the United States would discuss the issue with Iran.
“We’re going to work in the coming weeks to ensure that we do something with that fuel,” Vance told ABC News programme This Week.
