A senior Israeli official told The New York Times on Thursday that some of Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpiles likely survived the recent U.S. and Israeli strikes on Tehran's nuclear facilities – and may still be accessible to Iranian nuclear scientists.

Briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, the official said the remaining stockpiles are "likely buried in caskets underground," raising concerns in Jerusalem that the Iranian regime could attempt "going nuclear underground." Despite these concerns, the official emphasized that any Iranian move to recover enriched uranium would "most likely be detected by Jerusalem and Washington." Such an action, the official warned, would almost certainly trigger renewed Israeli – and potentially American – aerial strikes on Iran.

During an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that the Iranian regime would likely think twice before attempting to recover its buried enriched uranium due to fears of a strong Israeli and American military response.

"They know they felt the might – the might of America, the might of Israel, and the combined might of Israel and America. It's made an impact, not only in the Middle East, it's made an impact around the world. Everybody sees this," Netanyahu stated.

"So it has to be made clear to them, and I think it has been, that they don't get this enriched uranium," the Israeli prime minister continued.

Netanyahu further emphasized that the enriched uranium "is not enough to make atomic bombs — it's a necessary component, but it's not sufficient."

There have been intense speculations of the whereabouts of Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpile. Following the U.S. strikes on Iran's main nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan, an unnamed senior Iranian source claimed that Tehran's highly enriched uranium is "stored in secured sites" without elaborating. Some European officials also assessed that Iran could have potentially moved around 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of highly enriched uranium ahead of the massive U.S. strikes.

However, a senior Israeli official stated on Thursday that Israeli intelligence has assessed that Iran did not remove its enriched uranium from Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan ahead of the strikes.

American and Israeli security officials have assessed that Iran's nuclear military program was severely damaged in the combined U.S. and Israeli strikes. While security officials continue analyzing satellite data and acquiring additional information, Washington and Jerusalem have both assessed that Tehran's nuclear program has likely been set back up to two years or even more.

While the Iranian regime likely still seeks to acquire nuclear weapons, it is currently severely constrained by a weak economy and domestic political unrest. Furthermore, after the Israeli Air Force neutralized most of Iran's aerial defenses, Tehran is highly vulnerable to future potential Israeli and U.S. strikes on its military and nuclear sites.

U.S. President Donald Trump has stressed repeatedly that Iran must never be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. The Iranian ayatollah regime, which has chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" for decades, openly calls for Israel's destruction. Israeli officials therefore view Iran's attempt to acquire nuclear weapons as an existential threat to Israel's existence.

However, Israeli military and political leaders have also emphasized that Iran's ballistic missile program is a serious threat to Israel's security. Prior to Israel's strikes on Iran, Tehran reportedly planned to triple its arsenal of ballistic missiles from 2500 to 8000. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz recently assessed that Tehran's missile program was "mortally wounded" during Israel's "Operation Rising Lion" military offensive last month. Yet, Katz warned that Iranian missiles continue to pose a serious threat to the Jewish state's security.

This allisreal.com report was republished with permission from All Israel News.