Where is Iran's near-bomb-grade uranium stock? After 'Operation Midnight Hammer', mystery grows

US President Donald Trump addresses the nation regarding the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites as seen on a television screen in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington. (AFP)

Was ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’ a stunning success? Did the US bombers actually obliterate the nuclear sites deep in Iranian territory?

Well, US President Donald Trump believes that. Both in his address to the nation and a couple of posts on Truth Social, Trump has doubled down on claims that the American intervention was needed and was successful. But behind the rhetoric and raucous claims lies a quiet fact that many are not voicing.

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Sample this – During the detailed presentation on Operation Midnight on Sunday, Pentagon officials gave lots of charts, bullet points, and a plethora of military data to underscore the importance and significance of this unprecedented US intervention. But twice — yes, twice — Pentagon officials said that they were ‘still’ assessing the end result of the strikes.

This means the jury is still out on whether ‘Midnight Hammer’ destroyed the uranium stockpile of Iran or not. In fact, a New York Times report quoting White House officials said that nobody has an actual ground report on what happened to the near-bomb-grade uranium. The actual state of the Iranian nuclear programme is far more complicated, the US officials admitted.

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The NYT report said that the US is still not sure about the whereabouts of the uranium stockpile. The report also said that there is much evidence, from satellite pictures to sketchy on-ground intelligence, that suggests Tehran had in fact removed "400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity."

Interestingly, the fresh report by the International Atomic Energy Agency said that Iran had over 600 kg of 60% enriched uranium hexafluoride. Now, many believe that the nuclear material has been dispersed to several unknown locations.