Iran may have planted mines and collapsed the uranium tunnel

US President Donald Trump publicly announced last month that he could order US special forces to invade and seize about 440 kg of Iran’s highly enriched uranium. However, CNN On June 13, citing 5 sources with knowledge of US intelligence information, the ability for US soldiers to access this nuclear material has now become much more difficult, dangerous and time-consuming.

The above amount of uranium is believed to have been buried under Iran’s fortified underground bunkers after a large-scale US airstrike campaign in June 2025. Now, Iranian forces have deliberately collapsed the tunnels leading to the warehouse, as well as planted mines at the entrances to prevent US special forces from breaking in.

Iran’s new reinforcements make the Trump administration’s proposal to force Tehran to hand over and destroy uranium more complicated, and raise the question of who will undertake the dangerous task of digging up and recovering that material.

Some sources said that even for Iran itself, it is not easy or safe to bring out the enriched materials. The work will require heavy excavation equipment and demining operations, both of which are difficult and risky tasks.

“If this information is accurate, it is clear that recovering highly enriched uranium will become much more complicated,” said Scott Roecker, head of the Office of Nuclear Materials Removal of the US National Nuclear Security Administration from 2017 to 2021.

According to Mr. Roecker, this situation could also create an opportunity for Iran to make the process of verifying compliance with commitments more difficult.

If negotiators require Iran to bring all of the uranium to a gathering site for verification and eventual removal or dilution, removing it from the tunnel will be Tehran’s responsibility.

“I am worried that Iran may declare that it cannot recover part of the uranium. Then we cannot be completely sure whether Iran will be able to access this nuclear material in the future or not,” he said.

Iran’s diplomatic mission to the United Nations has not responded to a request for comment, while the White House has not yet spoken.

Iran possesses more than 440 kg of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to be close to the threshold needed to make nuclear weapons. Israeli officials say this amount of uranium is enough for Iran to produce 11 atomic bombs if it enriches further. However, Tehran has repeatedly affirmed that it does not pursue the goal of developing this type of destructive weapon.

Iran’s nuclear program is a core issue at the negotiating table between Tehran and Washington to end the war that broke out on February 28. President Trump has repeatedly stated that controlling this uranium is America’s top priority.

A senior official in the US administration said on June 11 that the two sides are getting closer to an agreement under which Iran will have to hand over enriched uranium to the US. This material will be destroyed on site before being taken out of Iran.

However, the US and Iran gave different descriptions of the draft being negotiated, and the specific provisions remain unclear. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the issue of the nuclear program will be discussed by both sides within 60 days after signing the preliminary agreement framework.

“The only way to deal with the stockpile of enriched uranium is to dilute it in Iran itself. That has always been our position,” he said.

The international community now believes that most of the uranium stockpile is in collapsed tunnels at the Isfahan nuclear complex in central Iran, with some stored at other locations.

CNN reported in mid-May that the US military had prepared a campaign to seize this nuclear material, but the final plan was judged to be too risky so it was not carried out. Since then, Iran is believed to have continued to reinforce the place where enriched uranium is buried underground.

Mr. Trump also acknowledged the danger of using military measures to recover this uranium. In an interview with Fox News last month, he expressed skepticism that Iran could access and take out the buried materials without being detected by US intelligence.

“We know exactly what’s going on. No one has been able to reach that place yet,” he said.

However, two sources noted that the US President’s public mention of uranium stockpiles as a potential target may have unintentionally motivated Iran to increase protection of its strategic assets. Even if the deal between Tehran and Washington is signed next week, additional technical negotiations aimed at agreeing details on the future of Iran’s nuclear program will continue.

Getting the uranium out of Iran would likely require the deployment of a specialized mobile uranium processing facility coordinated by the US National Nuclear Security Administration at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Two senior US negotiators, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, visited the facility earlier this month.

However, even the world’s leading experts in nuclear material removal will need considerable time to complete the task. Earlier this month, Mr. Trump said that process would take at least about two weeks.