5 hours ago
Last Updated:June 24, 2025, 14:38 IST
Vance said the US is unsure about the status of Iran’s 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium but will work in the coming weeks to address it.
A satellite view shows an overview of Fordow underground complex, after the U.S. struck the underground nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran (Photo: Reuters)
The status of Iran’s stockpile of more than 400 kg of enriched uranium is unknown, US Vice President JD Vance told ABC News in an interview on Sunday. During the conversation, Vance also said he thought the Iranian nuclear sites were “severely damaged or obliterated", but added he was “not exactly sure".
However, he did note that the country’s nuclear program had been heavily set back.
Vance’s statement came after US President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes on nuclear facilities in the country.
According to the New York Times, 880 pounds of enriched uranium had been removed to 60 per cent purity, below the 90 per cent needed for nuclear weapons.
Some 60 per cent enriched fuel was stored at the nuclear facility in Isfahan, the report claimed.
Vance, on being asked about the status of Iran’s 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium, said that the Trump administration is “going to work in the coming weeks to ensure that we do something with that fuel, and that’s one of the things that we’re going to have conversations with the Iranians about."
He added that the objective of the mission was to destroy the Fordow nuclear site in particular.
“That was the objective of the mission, to destroy that Fordow nuclear site and, of course, do some damage to the other sites as well. But we feel very confident that the Fordow nuclear site was substantially set back, and that was our goal," Vance told the broadcaster.
Late last week, Israel targeted three of Iran’s key nuclear facilities – Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow, killing several Iranian nuclear scientists.
The facilities are heavily fortified and largely underground, and there are conflicting reports of how much damage has been done.
Natanz and Fordow are Iran’s uranium enrichment sites, and Isfahan provides the raw materials, so any damage to these sites would limit Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons.
On Sunday, the United States dropped the biggest conventional bombs in its arsenal on Iranian nuclear facilities, using those bunker-busting munitions in combat for the first time to try to eliminate sites including the Fordow uranium-enrichment plant dug into a mountain.
According to a Reuters report, US bombing probably caused “very significant" damage to the underground areas of the Fordow uranium enrichment plant, dug into a mountain, though no one can yet tell the extent.
Beyond the level of damage done to Fordow’s underground enrichment halls, one of the biggest open questions is the status of its stock of enriched uranium.
Iran did, however, inform the Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on June 13 that it would take “special measures" to protect its nuclear materials and equipment that are under so-called IAEA safeguards, the oversight provided for by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
News world Over 400 Kg Of Uranium Feared Missing In Iran; US Says 'Unsure If Nuclear Sites Obliterated'
