Trump rejects Iran’s claim of moving enriched uranium before US strikes

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed Iran’s claims that it had moved enriched uranium to a protected site before US strikes on the Fordow facility and two other nuclear locations, insisting that Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been “obliterated.”

Speaking at the NATO Summit in The Hague, Trump said both Iran and Israel were continuing to uphold the ceasefire and that the truce was “going very well.”

After previously criticising Israel for launching airstrikes on Iran following the ceasefire, Trump praised the Israeli government for calling back its fighter jets in response to his request.

He also warned that Iran could face further attacks if it resumed uranium enrichment, but claimed Tehran had no intention of doing so.

“The last thing they want to do is enrich anything right now. They want to recover.”

“Can you imagine after all that they say, ‘Oh, let’s go and do a bomb,’” Trump added. “They’re not going to have a bomb and they’re not going to enrich.”

Addressing reports that Iran’s nuclear program remained partially intact despite the large-scale US strikes, Trump maintained that the material had not been moved out in time.

“I believe they didn’t have a chance to get anything out because they acted fast,” said Trump. “If it would have taken two weeks, maybe, but it’s very hard to remove that kind of material… and very dangerous.”

“Plus, they knew we were coming,” Trump added. “And if they know we’re coming, they’re not going to be down there.”

In a puzzling remark, Trump further claimed that Iran may have also benefited from the Israeli attacks on its nuclear sites. He described the US strike as a “tremendous victory for everybody, even for Iran.”

“Look, they’ve got a country, they’ve got oil and they’re very smart people and they can come back,” Trump said, adding that he believes the US “will end up having somewhat of a relationship” with Iran.