Iran's stockpile of highly-enriched uranium was trapped below ground by attacks during its 12-day conflict with Israel and the United States, Axios reported citing three senior Israeli officials with direct knowledge of the intelligence.
The stockpile is in underground tunnels under the Fordow and Isfahan nuclear sites, the outlets quoted the officials as saying, adding that they believe Israel will detect any Iranian attempt to recover it.
A twelve-day war with Israel killed 1,190 Iranians and wounded 4,475, rights group HRANA said in a comprehensive report on the impact of the conflict.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday acknowledged that US and Israeli strikes had done "serious harm" to its nuclear sites in the most wide-ranging remarks since the end of a 12-day war by Tehran's top diplomat.
"This damage has not been minor—serious harm has been done to our facilities. They are currently conducting a thorough assessment of the damage," he said in an interview with the state broadcaster, referring to Iran's Atomic Energy Agency.
Araghchi said Tehran would not allow the UN nuclear watchdog chief Raphael Grossi into the country as the parliament considers exiting the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which mandates inspections.
"For now, we do not intend to allow Mr. Grossi into Tehran. As for the inspectors, it still needs to be reviewed—if their presence aligns with parliamentary law, we’ll consider it. But clearly, if they want to inspect the destroyed facilities, it means they’re trying to assess the extent of the damage."
A US domestic political row has escalated over how effective US strikes on the nuclear facilities had been, with US President Donald Trump saying they "obliterated" their targets by senior Democrats still wary.
'Come, let's negotiate'
Aragchi detailed alleged diplomatic communications during the conflict in which he accused the United States and Israel of starting a conflict despite US-Iran nuclear talks.
"Europeans would call and say, 'Stop the war and return to diplomacy,' and I responded, 'What do you mean? We were in the middle of diplomacy!' They were the ones who started the war," Araghchi said.
The foreign minister, who was the chief interlocutor with the United States in two-month talks which ended with Israel's surprise attack earlier this month, warned against the triggering of United Nations "snapback" sanctions.
"Iran’s nuclear issue will become far more complex and difficult if the snapback mechanism is triggered—just as they made things more complicated by launching a war," Araghchi added, signaling a hard line on reviving talks or making a nuclear deal.
"They thought they could destroy our nuclear facilities, leave us empty-handed at the negotiating table, and then say, 'Come, let’s negotiate.' That didn’t happen.'"
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday acknowledged that US and Israeli strikes had done "serious harm" to its nuclear sites in Tehran's top diplomat's most wide-ranging remarks since the end of a 12-day war.
"This damage has not been minor—serious harm has been done to our facilities. They are currently conducting a thorough assessment of the damage," he said in an interview with the state broadcaster, referring to Iran's Atomic Energy Agency.
Uncertainty lingers over the fate of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, the New York Times reported on Thursday citing US officials.
Iran's entire program was significantly degraded by US and Israeli attacks, the report said citing the officials, and Iran would struggle to rapidly produce more nuclear fuel.
But US intelligence had previously assessed that Tehran would seek to move its stockpile should it face attack, they added, in order to keep as leverage in talks or to build a bomb.
Intelligence so far on the fate of the uranium was contradictory, the newspaper added citing the officials, who added that some of uranium believed to have been held at the Natanz facility had been damaged but not destroyed in Israeli and US air strikes.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem renewed the Iran-backed Lebanese group's allegiance to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday hours after the veteran Iranian leader emerged for the first time in over a week after a 12-day war with Israel.
Hezbollah, pounded by Israel in a series of attacks late last year, did not intervene to back Tehran as Israel and the United States launched air strikes.
"We affirm and are proud that we are with Iran and that we are under the guardianship of Imam Khamenei," Qassem said in a video address.
Qassem alleged "the unprecedented popular consensus around the leadership and regime in Iran and the rallying around Imam Khamenei to defend the country against aggression.”
Khamenei, he added, was a "brave, wise and inspiring leader who overcomes difficulties and stands in the field, fearless of blame while on God's path and confident in victory."






