By Isabella Torregiani
12:48pm PDT, Jun 24, 2025
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Vice President
J.D. Vance says he believes the U.S. airstrike successfully buried Iran's uranium stockpile — but not all officials are convinced.
After the recent strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, it remains unclear whether the enriched materials were destroyed in the attack or moved beforehand.
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On Monday, June 23, J.D. Vance expressed confidence that Iran's ability to produce nuclear weapons is no longer a threat following U.S. military action: "Our goal was to bury the uranium, and I do think the uranium is buried," he said on Fox News' Special Report. "But our goal was to eliminate the enrichment and eliminate their ability to convert that enriched fuel into a nuclear weapon."
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Before the Saturday, June 21, strikes, Iran had amassed approximately 400 kg (882 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60% purity — below the 92% threshold for weapons-grade material but still dangerous, according to nuclear experts. Earlier on Monday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned that "at this time, no one, including the IAEA, is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage" at the site.
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So far, intelligence officials are left to speculate about what may have happened to the uranium. Satellite imagery captured before the strikes reportedly shows more than a dozen trucks outside the gates of Iran's Fordow facility, indicating it may have been moved in advance. According to IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Abbas Araqchi had warned on June 13 that Tehran would take "special measures" to protect its nuclear infrastructure. "We do have indications, or at least the Iranians are saying they have moved or did move this material," said Annika Ganzeveld, Iran team lead at the American Enterprise Institute's Critical Threats Project. "I think this could be interpreted as Iran trying to move that material ahead of a potential strike — especially on Fordow, given that this happened right after the Israeli air campaign started."
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Even if J.D. Vance is correct and the uranium is buried, experts urge caution. According to Annika Ganzeveld, the material may have survived the strikes and is possibly concealed, allowing Iran to potentially wait out international attention: "I think the concern is that Iran could agree to allegedly stop uranium enrichment on Iranian soil but then secretly uses this uranium to advance its nuclear program," she said.
