Report: Iran Buries and Booby-Traps Uranium Tunnels Amid Fears of a U.S. Raid

In recent weeks, Iran has accelerated efforts to fortify and conceal its stockpile of enriched uranium, amid fears of a possible American military operation aimed at seizing the sensitive nuclear material. That was the report from CNN, citing five sources familiar with the details of U.S. intelligence.

According to the report, the regime in Tehran has taken unusual steps meant to make any future attempt to reach the stockpiles much more difficult. Among other measures, tunnels leading to major storage sites were intentionally collapsed, and mines and explosive devices were placed at their entrances. According to assessments, the move came after growing concern in Iran over a covert American operation intended to capture and confiscate the enriched uranium.

The main U.S. intelligence assessment is that most of the stockpile of uranium enriched to 60%—a level considered very close to the military threshold—is now buried beneath collapsed tunnels at the nuclear facility in Isfahan, in central Iran. At the same time, smaller quantities of the material are being held at additional sites across the country.

Officials in the U.S. administration said that access to roughly half a ton of enriched uranium has now become far more complex and dangerous than it was just a month ago. At that time, President Donald Trump publicly hinted that he was considering ordering the U.S. military to carry out a raid on the stockpiles.

According to experts quoted in the report, those public remarks by Trump were most likely the main trigger that led Tehran to speed up its fortification and booby-trapping efforts. In the background, it was previously revealed that during the month of May, the Pentagon considered carrying out a complex ground operation to confiscate the uranium, but the plan was canceled at the last minute after it was deemed to carry a "risk level that was too high."