Iran's uranium stocks said to be intact, UK media citing European intelligence probe says

Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium is believed to beryllium mostly intact pursuing US strikes connected nan country's main atomic sites, the Financial Times reported connected Thursday, citing European officials.

The newspaper, citing 2 group briefed connected preliminary intelligence assessments, said European capitals judge Iran’s stockpile of 408 kilograms of uranium enriched adjacent to weapons-grade levels was not being held successful Fordow and whitethorn person been moved anterior to US strikes connected Sunday.

Claims that uranium was moved from immoderate of Iran’s atomic sites were dismissed by White House property caput Karoline Leavitt connected Thursday.

"We were watching intimately and location was nary denotation to nan United States that immoderate of that enriched uranium was moved," she said.

The first European intelligence appraisal is improbable to spell down good pinch US President Donald Trump who is presently engaged pinch a conflict pinch his ain spy agencies astir nan effect of nan US strikes connected 3 Iranian atomic sites.

On Thursday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said nan strikes had caused "severe damage" to Iran's atomic accommodation aft a leaked study downplayed nan grade of nan operation.

According to Ratcliffe, cardinal sites had been destroyed and would person to beryllium rebuilt complete nan "course of years."

But he stopped short of supporting Trump's claims that nan cognition connected Iran’s atomic programme had been a "spectacular subject success" that had "obliterated" nan facilities.

Trump's claims were supported by Israel's Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) which said connected Wednesday that US and Israeli strikes had rendered nan Fordow underground enrichment tract "inoperable."

In a handout, nan IAEC claimed nan "devastating" strikes "destroyed nan site's captious infrastructure."

The caller US intelligence appraisal comes a time aft a leaked early study from nan Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) played down nan grade of nan demolition and concluded that cardinal components of Iran's atomic programme could beryllium restarted successful months.

Speaking astatine nan NATO Summit successful The Hague connected Wednesday, Trump rejected that assessment, insisting that his country's spies did not person nan afloat image and defended his ain conclusion that American bombs and missiles delivered a crushing blow.

"This was a devastating onslaught and it knocked them for a loop," Trump said arsenic his management scrambled to support claims he made only hours aft nan attack.

The effect of nan US strikes was besides downplayed by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In his first nationalist remarks since Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire which brought an extremity to nan 12-day conflict, Khamenei said Trump’s appraisal had been "exaggerated."

"They could not execute thing significant," Khamenei said successful a video connection broadcast connected authorities television.

US subject operation

The US launched strikes connected Sunday connected 3 of Iran's atomic facilities; Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

At Fordow, which is buried heavy nether a upland northbound of nan metropolis of Qom, US stealth bombers dropped respective 14,000-kilogram bunker-buster bombs, collapsing nan entranceway and damaging infrastructure.

But nan installation itself was not destroyed, US intelligence found.

Iran’s ongoing atomic programme was astatine nan bosom of nan caller conflict pinch Israel, which Israeli officials spot arsenic an existential threat to their country.

Iran was antecedently taxable to an world atomic woody known arsenic nan Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which saw nan state person sanctions alleviation successful speech for strict limits connected its atomic activities.

During his first word successful office, President Donald Trump withdrew nan US from nan pact successful 2018, slamming it arsenic "the worst woody ever negotiated" and slapping caller sanctions connected Iran.

Since then, nan different signatories to nan woody person scrambled to support Iran successful compliance, but Tehran considers nan woody void and has continued pinch uranium enrichment, which astatine existent levels sits astatine 60%.

That's still technically beneath nan weapons-grade levels of 90%, but still acold supra nan 3.67% permitted nether nan JCPOA.

Iran maintains that its atomic programme is serene and purely for civilian purposes.