Radiation danger looms large: 400kg enriched uranium goes missing from Fordow! Where has it gone? Has Iran...

Though the Israel-Iran ceasefire has come to a halt, temporarily at least, a much bigger danger is looming over the two countries and a wider area of the Middle East. Making the most startling revelation of the time, US Vice President JD Vance has claimed that the stockpile of about 400kg of enriched uranium has been missing since the time B-2 stealth bomber rained bunker-buster bombs on the nuclear plant at Fordow. The nuclear enrichment plant is buried deep under the Makran Mountains in southern Iran. 

What did JD Vance say?

Though US President Donald Trump claimed the nuclear facility was "completely obliterated", there is no evidence to back his claim. The International Atomic Energy Agency said that there has been "significant damage", but it did not explain what it meant. It also said that there had been to radiation leak after the attack. 

Vance sets alarm bell ringing

Vance's claim coupled with the IAEA announcement has set the alarm bells ringing. Earlier, Tehran said that it had removed the enriched Uranium from Fordow anticipating the US attack. What the US vice president has said indicates that the enriched Uranium is missing and it may become a powerful bargaining chip for Iran. Whenever the Islamic Republic decides to resume the talks, it can bargain over this stockpile. 

Was enriched Uranium shifted before US bombing?

According to The New York Times, before the Pentagon sent B-2 stealth bombers to drop the bunker-buster bombs on Fordow, the intelligence agencies analysed the satellite images from the site. These images were interpreted as a line of 16 trucks standing outside the Fordow nuclear plant. Does it mean that Tehran shifted the enriched uranium just hours before the attack? The possibility can not be ruled out, Iran has claimed to have shifted the enriched uranium. 

400kg of 60% enriched Uranium missing

The stockpile of 400 kg uranium reportedly shifted to a safe place, was 60% enriched. It was in gaseous form, highly radioactive and toxic. At least 90% enriched uranium is required for making a nuclear bomb. Gaseous uranium is put in centrifuges and rotated at the speed of 30,000 revolutions per minute. Heavier isotope Uranium 238 settles down at the bottom and U-235 floats at the top, the two get separated. By 90% enrichment, one means the sample contains 90% U-235. Analysts believe it may take months to reach the level of 90% enrichment from 60%. 

Analysts believe Washington's move of attacking Iran's nuclear facilities may prove to be counter-productive as it may push Tehran to a corner and with its back on the wall, the Islamic Republic may speed up the enrichment process. It has 400 kg of 60% enriched uranium, enough to resume its program.