European intelligence agencies initially believe that Iran has retained most of its enriched uranium stockpiles after the US strikes.
This is reported by the Financial Times, citing two officials.
Intelligence indicates that the stockpile of 408 kilograms of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels was not stored at the Fordow plant at the time of the US attack on June 22. It is estimated that the stockpile was dispersed across several other sites before the US strikes on the plant.
The findings cast doubt on US President Donald Trump’s claim that the US strikes “destroyed Iran’s nuclear programme”, the Financial Times reported. EU governments are still waiting for a full intelligence report on the extent of the damage to the Fordow facility. They said one initial report had indicated “significant damage but not total destruction”.
If Tehran has maintained its stockpile of enriched uranium and deployed advanced centrifuges at hidden sites, it may still have the potential to produce weapons, experts say. The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi said that Iranʼs nuclear program had suffered "huge losses" but that claims of its complete destruction were exaggerated.
Satellite image of the Iranian plant in Fordow, June 24, 2025.
The classified plant at Fordow was the main facility for enriching uranium to 60%. Experts indicate that 408 kg of uranium enriched to this level was stored at the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan facilities before the escalation of hostilities with Israel.
Iranʼs total stockpile of enriched uranium was over 8,400 kg, but most of it was enriched to low levels.
Satellite images of Fordow after the US attacks show that the tunnel entrances have been filled in with earth. They also show craters from what are believed to be US bunker bombs and damaged roads to the factory.
The United States has not provided European allies with definitive intelligence on Iranʼs remaining nuclear capabilities after the strikes, according to three officials briefed on the talks. Nor has it outlined how it plans to build relations with Tehran going forward. So European policymakers are now waiting for a new diplomatic initiative from Washington to resolve the crisis.
Whatʼs happening in the Middle East?
On the night of June 13, Israel attacked the center of Iranʼs nuclear, missile, and military infrastructure. After that, Iran announced that it would not participate in negotiations with the United States on its nuclear program, scheduled for June 15. On the evening of June 13, Iran responded by attacking Israel with ballistic missiles. The sides began to exchange blows.
On the night of June 22, the United States attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities in the cities of Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. American B-2 stealth bombers dropped six GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs on Iranʼs Fordow nuclear facility, two GBU-57 bombs on the Natanz nuclear facility, and a U.S. Navy submarine launched a salvo of 30 Tomahawk missiles, targeting the Natanz facility and another in Isfahan. Details of the operation can be found here.
Trump claimed that all three facilities “have been completely and irreversibly destroyed”. The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Kaine, had previously stated that the nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan were “severely damaged”, but he stopped short of saying that Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been “destroyed”. And on June 23, Iran fired several missiles at US military bases in the Middle East.
On the night of June 24, the US President Donald Trump reported that Israel and Iran had agreed to a complete ceasefire. A few hours later, Israel confirmed the start of the ceasefire. Then it said that Tehran had violated it.
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