US President Donald Trump declared on Monday that recovering Iran’s uranium stockpile would be a “long and difficult” process due to uncertainties surrounding its location following US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
In a post on Truth Social Monday evening, Trump described the operation “Midnight Hammer” as having led to the “complete and total annihilation of Iran’s nuclear sites,” making the recovery effort significantly challenging.
The term “nuclear dust,” used by Trump, refers to both Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile and some nuclear materials buried as a result of US airstrikes in June 2025.
For years, the US, Israel, and European nations have suspected Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran has consistently denied, asserting its right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes. Iran’s nuclear programme suffered extensive damage during the 12-day war in June 2025 and subsequent comprehensive strikes by US and Israeli forces.
On Thursday, Trump announced that Iran had agreed to relinquish its enriched uranium, meeting one of Washington’s key conditions for a potential agreement with Tehran.
The next day, addressing supporters in Arizona, Trump said, “We’re going to retrieve it and bring it back to the United States soon.”
Iran, however, refuted Trump’s statement, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei declaring on state television, “Iran’s enriched uranium will not be transferred anywhere.”
