Overview
- U.S. intelligence, reported Monday, keeps Iran’s breakout at nine months to a year, the same estimate set after last summer’s U.S.-Israeli strikes.
- The recent U.S.-led campaign has hit Iran’s military and industrial base, while Israel also struck several nuclear sites.
- The U.N. watchdog says it cannot account for about 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, enough for roughly ten bombs if further refined.
- Analysts believe much of that material sits in deep tunnels at Isfahan that standard weapons cannot reach, and some U.S. officials are weighing risky ground raids to remove or destroy it.
- The White House says the goal is to ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon and points to damage from Operations Midnight Hammer and Epic Fury.