The U.S. and Israel are hunting for the 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% from Iran: according to experts, this is enough to build at least 10 atomic bombs.

Drones and spy satellites from the United States and Israel are engaged in a frantic, silent treasure hunt. The target is not an enemy leader, but rather a quantity of material capable of altering the balances of the Middle East: 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%. This is the amount that, according to the latest available reports before the airstrikes in June 2025, Iran had accumulated.

This figure shakes Western capitals because 440.9 kg of 60% uranium would be enough, if further refined, to fuel between 10 and 11 atomic weapons. The empirical rule shared by analysts indicates that about 42-50 kg of this material is needed to obtain, by bringing it to 90% enrichment (weapon-grade), the amount necessary for a single nuclear bomb. The transition from 60% to 90% is a relatively quick leap and requires only “weeks, not months”.

What makes the situation even more alarming is the chemical form of the stockpile: mostly uranium hexafluoride (UF6) in gaseous state, a compound ready to be fed directly into the rotors of centrifuges, drastically reducing the time for potential militarization.

The question that haunts intelligence services today is the physical location of this stock. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had managed to directly verify 432.9 kg, estimating the rest. Production had seen a marked acceleration in the early months of 2025: from 274.8 kg in February to 440.9 kg on June 13. After the air raids in June 2025, which targeted crucial facilities such as Isfahan, Fordow, and Natanz, the situation plunged into a dangerous “gray zone.” The IAEA reported significant delays in inspections and the inability to access some bombed sites. According to U.S. and Israeli government sources, much of the reserve would now be inaccessible, literally buried under the rubble of the underground structures hit by the strikes. Nevertheless, the director general of the IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi, confirmed at the end of 2025 that the 60% material “is still in Iran”, albeit without a precise and certified location.

In the face of this uncertainty, Washington and Jerusalem are considering multiple operational avenues. On one hand, persistent monitoring via satellites and drones continues to intercept any possible movement of UF6 batches; on the other hand, strong diplomatic pressure is being exerted for Tehran to restore full access to IAEA inspectors, in order to reactivate the fundamental “black box” of nuclear accounting. There is also an extreme plan on the table, discussed in Washington in the first decade of March 2026: a ground surgical operation, conducted by special forces, to seize or neutralize uranium. At the same time, the faint possibility of a negotiated path is not extinguished. In February 2026, Tehran opened up to the possibility of “diluting” part of the uranium to 60%, bringing it back to non-alarming enrichment levels under technical supervision, in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.