Iran’s nuclear threat remains despite Israeli strikes, sources tell Post

The damage to Iran’s nuclear program may be extensive, but the danger has not disappeared, multiple sources told The Jerusalem Post. The sources said there is no imminent threat, while warning that the program could still recover over time.

Iran is currently not operating centrifuges to enrich uranium, and much of its 60% and 20% enriched uranium is not readily accessible. The vast majority of the country’s nuclear facilities were also rendered inoperable during two major rounds of strikes in June 2025 and early 2026.

Those setbacks exceed the reversals imposed during earlier pauses from 2003 to 2007 and from 2015 to 2018, when parts of Iran’s program were frozen but not destroyed. Still, the Post reported that a significant number of centrifuges survived deep underground. Although most of Iran’s roughly 20,000-centrifuge fleet was eliminated or damaged, even a few hundred advanced IR-6 centrifuges could potentially be salvaged and reconnected to their cascades.

Sources also warned that Tehran could attempt to recover enriched uranium from beneath rubble and underground sites while avoiding surveillance by the United States and others. Satellite reports cited in the article show structures being added over some areas and digging in locations away from the main sections of attacked nuclear facilities.

Such work could take months or years, the sources said. But secretly moving even one-tenth of the enriched uranium could potentially provide a basis for a nuclear weapon. The article also said monitoring has become more difficult since the 12-day war in June 2025, citing International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi’s statement that the agency has been unable to see Iran’s nuclear program.