Berk Kutay Gokmen
05 May 2026•Update: 05 May 2026
Some of Iran’s nuclear capabilities may have survived since the US and Israel launched their strikes against Iran, CNN reported Tuesday.
The report said that in these latest strikes by the US and Israel, while much of the production process has been “substantially damaged,” some of the most important parts of this process, for stores of highly enriched uranium, “may not have been touched at all.”
It said that Saghand Uranium Mine, where raw material is mined, has expanded significantly in recent years, adding that recent imagery since the latest strikes showed no evidence of damage, with diggers still operating at the site.
According to the report, places like the Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility, where the material is purified and converted into uranium hexafluoride, have caused the “biggest headache” for the US and Israel.
It said that following US and Israeli attacks, Iran covered over several entrances to these underground tunnels near those facilities, suggesting that “there still remains something valuable down there.”
Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, triggering retaliation from Tehran against Israel as well as US allies in the Gulf, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
A ceasefire took effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but talks in Islamabad failed to produce a lasting agreement.
The truce was later extended by US President Donald Trump indefinitely.
