A recent New York Times report reveals growing uncertainty about the location of Iran’s stockpile of near-weapons-grade uranium following U.S. military strikes on the country’s nuclear facilities. Both Vice President JD Vance and Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), have acknowledged questions regarding the whereabouts of this critical nuclear material. Some satellite images on internet claim that trucks were seen to move Iranian nuclear stockpile. Albeit there’s no clarity of whether the trucks in the satellite images, 2 days before US attacks, were indeed moving enriched Uranium.

Also read: US asked Iran’s uranium to be moved a 3rd country like Russia; Iran rejected

The U.S. military targeted three Iranian nuclear facilities, including the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, on Sunday, marking a direct escalation in the Israel-Iran conflict. The strikes, which involved Air Force B-2 bombers and Navy Tomahawk missiles, caused significant damage. Satellite imagery of the Fordow plant revealed multiple deep craters from a dozen 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs. Initial Israeli military assessments indicate severe damage to the site, though it was not entirely destroyed.

Despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran’s nuclear program was “completely and totally obliterated,” senior officials have been more cautious. At a Sunday press briefing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine described “severe damage and destruction” at the targeted sites but refrained from echoing Trump’s assertion of total destruction.

Adding to the uncertainty, two Israeli officials cited by the New York Times reported that Iran had relocated 400 kilograms (approximately 880 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60% purity— just below the 90% threshold typically used for nuclear weapons—from the Fordow plant in the days leading up to the U.S. strikes. The officials also noted that other equipment was moved, likely in response to recent threats from President Trump.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told CNN that UN inspectors last observed the uranium stockpile at Fordow about a week before Israel’s initial attacks on Iran. He noted that Iran has made no secret of its efforts to safeguard this material, though its current location remains unclear.

The uncertainty surrounding Iran’s near-bomb-grade uranium underscores the challenges of tracking nuclear materials in conflict zones, raising concerns about the security and potential misuse of such stockpiles.