President Donald Trump said only the United States and China have the capability to retrieve enriched uranium from Iran’s buried nuclear sites, arguing that the facilities were so badly damaged by U.S. strikes that recovering the material would be extremely difficult.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said Iran’s nuclear sites had been “obliterated” and claimed that the mountain above the material had collapsed onto it. He said the U.S. and China possess the kind of powerful equipment needed to reach deep underground stockpiles.
The claim came as Washington continued negotiations with Tehran, while U.S. forces, Israeli operations, Iran-backed groups and shipping security concerns kept the wider region under pressure. Reuters reported this week that Trump also said the U.S. did not need a formal deal with Iran to obtain enriched uranium, though he described the material as “entombed.”
Trump’s Claim About Iran’s Uranium
Trump said the uranium remains buried in heavily damaged Iranian nuclear sites.
“We attacked their nuclear sites and they were obliterated,” he told reporters, according to the source article. He argued that earlier doubts about the severity of the damage were wrong and said the facilities had been hit so hard that “nobody knows” whether the material could even be removed.
Trump then said only two countries could realistically reach the material.
“But the only ones that have the capability of getting it out are us and China,” he said.
He described the recovery challenge as a matter of depth and force, saying the equipment required would need to reach far into a mountain. In Trump’s account, the mountain had collapsed over the material, making the task especially difficult.
The IAEA Question
Trump also referred to the International Atomic Energy Agency, saying the agency had backed the U.S. view that reaching the material would be very difficult.
The source article does not provide a direct IAEA statement alongside Trump’s claim. That matters because independent verification of Iran’s uranium status remains a central issue in the broader nuclear dispute.
Reuters reported that diplomats said the United States was preparing a draft resolution on Iran at the IAEA, while noting that much of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is believed to remain intact and that the IAEA has not been granted access to verify the situation.
That leaves the uranium issue politically urgent and technically unresolved.
Trump also said he would be willing to meet Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei if negotiations between Washington and Tehran produced a deal.
Asked about a possible meeting, Trump said he would be willing to meet respectfully, while also noting that he is likely not Khamenei’s “favorite person.” The comment suggested that Trump sees a diplomatic opening if both sides reach an agreement first.
The source article says Khamenei appears to have become more involved as negotiations continue.
For Washington, any meeting would carry high symbolic weight. For Tehran, it would come after military strikes, sanctions pressure and an ongoing regional confrontation involving Iran-backed forces.
CENTCOM Reports Drone Shootdowns Near Hormuz
The nuclear comments came against a backdrop of active military pressure near one of the world’s most sensitive maritime corridors.
U.S. Central Command said American forces shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones near the Strait of Hormuz, calling them an “immediate threat” to regional maritime traffic. CENTCOM said U.S. forces also struck Iranian coastal surveillance radar sites in Goruk and on Qeshm Island to prevent further attacks.
The Strait of Hormuz has remained a focal point of the crisis because of its strategic importance to global shipping and energy flows.
The source article also says the United Kingdom and France have reportedly finalized plans to lead a multinational mission to clear naval mines from the Strait of Hormuz.
Lebanon and Hezbollah Add Another Front
The regional crisis is not limited to Iran’s nuclear sites or the Persian Gulf.
The source article reports that Israeli strikes killed at least six people in Lebanon after Hezbollah rejected the latest ceasefire agreement with Israel. The Israel Defense Forces said it struck 650 Hezbollah targets and killed 125 Hezbollah fighters over the past week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces did not intend to withdraw from southern Lebanon in the near future, according to the source article.
Iran’s position also links broader peace prospects with the fighting in Lebanon. The article states that Iran has tied any broader peace agreement with the U.S. to an end to the conflict there.
Alongside military operations, the U.S. has continued economic and maritime pressure.
The source article says the Justice Department announced the seizure of the M/T Davina, also known as Lenore, a sanctioned supertanker allegedly tied to Iran’s “Ghost Fleet.” The vessel can reportedly carry up to two million barrels of oil.
The Treasury Department also announced action against Iranian gas smuggling and shadow banking networks as part of what it described as the Economic Fury campaign.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran’s economy is “floundering” and its military is “decimated,” while adding that Treasury would continue targeting Iran’s shadow fleet, shadow banking networks and access to global trade.
Why the Uranium Claim Matters
Trump’s uranium claim matters because it sits at the intersection of military power, nuclear diplomacy and regional deterrence.
If the uranium is unreachable, as Trump suggested, that strengthens the administration’s argument that Iran’s nuclear capability has been severely constrained. If inspectors cannot verify the material’s status, however, questions will remain about what Iran still has, where it is, and whether it can eventually be recovered.
The uncertainty also affects negotiations. A deal with Iran would likely need to address the uranium stockpile, future enrichment limits and monitoring access.
At the same time, the continuing drone threats, maritime operations and fighting in Lebanon show that the nuclear dispute is only one part of a much larger confrontation.
Trump’s statement that only the U.S. and China can retrieve enriched uranium from Iran’s damaged nuclear sites added a new layer to an already volatile standoff.
The president described Iran’s nuclear facilities as “obliterated” and the uranium as buried beneath collapsed terrain. But outside verification remains a key question, especially as the IAEA issue continues to shape diplomacy.
For now, the crisis is moving on several tracks at once: nuclear talks, military deterrence, maritime security, sanctions enforcement and the escalating conflict involving Hezbollah in Lebanon. Trump’s claim may frame the uranium as trapped underground, but the political consequences are still very much above the surface.
