In a military shift that signals a change in the way it deals with the Iranian nuclear program, Washington appears to have adopted an unusual option: burying enriched uranium underground instead of trying to extract it. This was done through concentrated air strikes that targeted the vicinity of sensitive facilities in Isfahan, in a step that combines field and strategic dimensions.
According to an analysis by journalist Ron Ben Yishai, Iran still possesses about 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, an amount that raises serious concern for the United States and Israel, as its enrichment rate can be increased to 90% within a short period, which is enough to produce the cores of 11 nuclear bombs within weeks.
The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that this uranium is stored in deep underground tunnels at the Isfahan and Natanz sites, which were subjected to American attacks during the 12-day war last year, with the possibility that a portion of it is also present in the Fordow facility.
In this context, recently published satellite imaging revealed a truck carrying 18 blue containers that entered a tunnel inside the Isfahan facility days before the start of military operations on June 13, 2025, which suggests that Iran transported large quantities of enriched uranium and stored them underground in anticipation of any attack.
Previously, the options presented included carrying out a ground operation to extract these materials or forcing Iran to transfer them outside its territory as part of an agreement, but Tehran has refused to do so until now. The ground military option is very complex, as it requires deploying more than 1,000 soldiers, securing continuous supplies, building air strips, in addition to using heavy equipment to open closed tunnels, which means human losses and long-term operations.
In the face of these complications, it seems that Washington has turned to an alternative option, which is to “bury” the uranium, by targeting the surrounding areas with fortification-piercing bombs, which leads to closing the entrances and tunnels leading to it, and making access to it impossible or requiring long months, which gives the United States and Israel time to monitor and thwart any Iranian attempt to recover it.
In this context, an American official reported that a “large quantity” of bunker-buster bombs weighing 2,000 pounds (about 900 kilograms) were used in the strike that targeted what was described as a large ammunition depot in Isfahan. US President Donald Trump also published a video clip showing a series of explosions without explanations, before it was later understood that he was documenting the moment the attack was carried out.
It is estimated that the strikes deliberately did not target the uranium itself, to avoid the risk of radioactive contamination in the surrounding areas, and instead focused on destroying the surrounding infrastructure and closing the passages leading to it, as the enriched material is believed to be buried at a depth of more than 100 meters under the rocks.
Washington had adopted the same method about a week and a half ago at the Natanz facility, where bunker-busting bombs were used to target the vicinity of the tunnels, which reinforced the hypothesis that the goal was to disrupt access to uranium and not to destroy it directly.
In conclusion, these strikes reflect a shift in the American strategy from seeking to control nuclear materials to disrupting their practical use, an option that is less costly in human terms but opens the door to a new phase of indirect confrontation with Iran, entitled: slowing down the nuclear program instead of ending it.
