As Uneasy Truce Takes Hold, Focus on Uranium Mystery

US President Donald Trump's declaration of a cease-fire between Israel and Iran may curb the exchange of missile fire, but the biggest mystery of the war remains unsolved: the location of Tehran's near-bomb-grade uranium.

- Bloomberg

TEHRAN:

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) acknowledged just five days into the conflict its inspectors had lost track of Iran's 409 kilograms of highly-enriched uranium—enough for 10 nuclear warheads should Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei opt to pursue weaponisation.

The stockpile can be stored in 16 cylinders measuring 91.4 centimeters in height, according to estimates published by US regulators, or about the size of a large scuba-diving tank. Each one would weigh about 25 kilos—light enough to be carried to a secret location on foot or in the back of a small vehicle.

Even if Israel and the US have effectively destroyed Iran's enrichment infrastructure for the foreseeable future—and the evidence to date is far from clear—the risk is the uranium already at near-weapons grade could be hidden away indefinitely.

IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi said he's still optimistic that a durable cease-fire could pave the way to a reopening of talks on Iran's nuclear programme and the return of inspectors.