Trump said Iran's nuclear sites were 'obliterated' but questions remain about enriched uranium

But Jeffrey Lewis, an American adept successful atomic nonproliferation and a prof astatine the California-based James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said connected X that helium was “unimpressed” by some the U.S. and Israeli strikes connected Iran due to the fact that they “failed to people important elements of Iran’s atomic materials and accumulation infrastructure.”

Iran’s highly enriched uranium “was mostly stored successful underground tunnels” adjacent the Isfahan site, helium said. But contempt extended American and Israeli attacks connected the facility, helium said, “there does not look to person been immoderate effort to destruct these tunnels oregon the worldly that was successful them.”

He added that determination had been “no effort to onslaught the tremendous underground installation adjacent to Natanz wherever Iran tin marque much centrifuges and possibly bash different things.”

Satellite images taken 2 days earlier the onslaught connected Fordo besides showed 16 cargo trucks connected an entree roadworthy starring up to the complex. Released by Maxar Technologies, a U.S. defence contractor headquartered successful Colorado, pictures taken the pursuing time amusement the trucks had moved distant from the site.

Tehran is besides signalling that its intent to execute atomic weapons is undimmed, possibly adjacent strengthened. “Even if the atomic sites are destroyed, the crippled isn’t over,” Ali Shamkhani, a apical political, subject and atomic advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wrote connected X connected Sunday. “Enriched materials, indigenous knowledge, governmental volition remain.”

An appraisal by FilterLabs, which uses artificial quality and experts to show societal media, besides suggests that Iranians believed that they would not person been attacked if the state had a atomic weapon.

“What we person started to spot successful the past fewer days is really Iranians accidental this is the crushed wherefore we should person a atomic weapon,” FilterLabs laminitis and CEO Jonathan Teubner told NBC News connected Monday. “That if they had one, they would beryllium much protected.”

“The cardinal world remains that subject enactment unsocial tin lone rotation backmost the programme by degrees, not destruct it fully,” Darya Dolzikova​, a elder probe chap astatine the London-based Royal United Services Institute deliberation tank, said successful an op-ed Sunday.

The occurrence of the American attacks, peculiarly astatine the Fordo plant, “is not instantly apparent,” she wrote. “Imagery can’t amusement overmuch astir the harm down astatine the centrifuge enrichment hall, truthful the U.S. and Israel volition beryllium relying heavy connected quality from wrong the Iranian system.”

But adjacent if the demolition was widespread, “Iran retains extended expertise that volition let it to yet reconstitute what aspects of the programme person been damaged oregon destroyed,” she said.

“The Iranian atomic programme is decades aged and draws connected extended Iranian indigenous expertise. The carnal elimination of the programme’s infrastructure — and adjacent the assassination of Iranian scientists — volition not beryllium capable to destruct the latent cognition that exists successful the country.”