CNN: Iran fortifies enriched uranium stockpiles

Iran has significantly increased security measures around its stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium, including collapsing tunnel entrances and allegedly installing explosive devices, according to five sources familiar with US intelligence assessments cited by CNN. 

The sources said access to roughly half a ton of highly enriched uranium has become substantially more difficult, hazardous, and time-consuming than it was a month earlier, when US President Donald Trump publicly suggested the possibility of military action to seize the material.

The fortifications are said to add further complexity to ongoing diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran aimed at addressing Iran’s nuclear programme. They also raise questions about how any potential removal or destruction of the uranium could be carried out safely.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while the White House also declined to comment on the reports.

President Trump has repeatedly said that securing Iran’s enriched uranium is a central objective in ongoing negotiations aimed at ending regional hostilities and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which he has claimed Iran has effectively closed.

According to a senior US administration official who briefed reporters on June 12, both sides are moving closer to a potential agreement that could require Iran to transfer its enriched uranium stockpile out of the country for destruction under US supervision.

However, US and Iranian officials have offered differing accounts of the status and details of the proposed agreement, and no final text has been confirmed. A draft reportedly leaked to a semi-official Iranian news outlet earlier this week, prompting criticism from President Trump on social media.

If such an agreement were implemented, US officials would likely rely on specialised nuclear handling capabilities, including mobile uranium processing systems operated under the US National Nuclear Security Administration at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

CNN previously reported that senior US negotiators, including Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, visited the facility earlier this month as part of discussions on potential technical arrangements.

By Sabina Mammadli