Iran sealed uranium cache, placed mines

...amid fears of US op to seize material

Iran has fortified sites holding its stockpile of near bomb-grade uranium by collapsing tunnels and placing explosive mines at access points, sources said.

The measures have made it more difficult to reach the estimated half-tonne of highly enriched uranium, much of which is believed to be stored in collapsed tunnels at the Isfahan nuclear complex. The move comes after President Trump publicly suggested the military could seize the material, CNN reported.

The fortifications complicate ongoing US-Iran negotiations over the future of Tehran’s nuclear programme. A senior US administration official said the sides were moving closer to a pact under which Iran would hand over its enriched uranium for destruction and removal. However, both sides have offered differing accounts of the proposed deal, and its terms remain unclear.

Experts say retrieving the uranium would now require extensive excavation and de-mining operations. Scott Roe­ck­er, former head of the US National Nuclear Security Ad­ministration’s Office of Nuc­le­ar Material Removal, said the development could complica­te efforts to verify and remove the stockpile, raising concerns some material could be declared inaccessible.