‘Too Heavy, Dangerous’: Donald Trump Says Iran Didn't Move Uranium Before US Strikes

Last Updated:June 26, 2025, 20:10 IST

Donald Trump also used the occasion to lash out at broadcaster CNN and newspaper New York Times who in reports questioned his assessment of damage to Iran’s nuclear sites.

US President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands. (IMAGE: REUTERS)

US President Donald Trump on Thursday rejected reports that Iran removed nuclear materials before weekend airstrikes on its nuclear plants. The US President claimed workers at the sites were covering shafts rather than removing uranium stockpiles in a post on Truth Social, a social media site he owns.

“The cars and small trucks at the site were those of concrete workers trying to cover up the top of the shafts," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“Nothing was taken out of facility. Would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!" he added.

Donald Trump also in a series of tweets lashed out at broadcaster CNN and newspaper The New York Times for spreading “fake news".

Trump lashed out at CNN after the broadcaster published a report claiming last weekend’s US military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities failed to cause long-term damage.

Quoting unnamed sources, the CNN report said a preliminary assessment by the Pentagon’s intelligence arm concluded that Iran’s nuclear program had only been set back by a few months. The assessment, prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency, was based on post-strike analysis by US Central Command.

In response, Trump took to Truth Social to deny any suggestion that Iran managed to move key material or escape the impact.

“FAKE NEWS REPORTERS FROM CNN & THE NEW YORK TIMES SHOULD BE FIRED, IMMEDIATELY!!! BAD PEOPLE WITH EVIL INTENTIONS!!!" he said in an all-uppercase post on his social media site. He then posted another post where he said he heard reporters who reported these developments will be “fired" by the respective news outlets.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said on Thursday that the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities unfolded exactly as intended.

“The operation went as planned," Caine told reporters, adding that the 30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs “functioned as designed, meaning they exploded."

He also clarified that he has “never been pressured" by President Donald Trump or Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to provide a different intelligence assessment on the US’ military operation against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“No, no, I have not. And no, I would not," Caine said.

Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

News world ‘Too Heavy, Dangerous’: Donald Trump Says Iran Didn't Move Uranium Before US Strikes