No known intelligence that Iran moved uranium, U.S. defense chief says

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said he was unaware of any intelligence suggesting Iran had moved any of its highly enriched uranium to shield it from U.S. strikes, amid continuing questions about the state of Iran's nuclear program.

U.S. military bombers carried out strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities early Sunday, using more than a dozen 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs.

The results of the strikes are being closely watched to determine how far they may have set back Iran's nuclear program, after U.S. President Donald Trump said it had been "obliterated."

"I'm not aware of any intelligence that I've reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be, moved or otherwise," Hegseth told a news conference.

Several experts have cautioned that Iran likely moved a stockpile of near weapons-grade highly enriched uranium out of the deeply buried Fordow site before the strikes and could be hiding it in unknown locations.

They noted satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showing "unusual activity" at Fordow on Thursday and Friday, with a long line of vehicles waiting outside an entrance to the facility.

A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday that most of the 60 percent highly enriched uranium had been moved to an undisclosed location before the attack.

The Financial Times, citing European intelligence assessments, reported that Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpile remains largely intact, as it was not concentrated at Fordow.

Hegseth's comments denying such claims came at the news briefing where he also accused journalists of downplaying the success of the strikes, following a leaked preliminary assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency suggesting they may have only set back Iran by months.

He said the assessment was of low confidence and, citing comments from CIA Director John Ratcliffe, said it had been overtaken by intelligence showing Iran's nuclear program was severely damaged and would take years to rebuild.

U.S. senators briefed later on Thursday by Ratcliffe, Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it was clear the strikes had damaged Iran's nuclear facilities, though it would take time to assess the full extent.

"I will say it was not part of the mission to destroy all their enriched uranium or to seize it or anything else," Republican Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton of Arkansas told reporters after the classified briefing, adding that he was confident the mission was "extraordinary."

Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Intelligence Committee Democrat, said the only way to be certain about Iran's nuclear capabilities was to have inspectors on the ground.

"It was clear, and again, this is long before this brief, that some of the enriched uranium was never going to be taken out by a bunker-buster bomb, so some of that obviously remains," Warner said.

The four officials were due to brief the House of Representatives on Friday.

(With input from Reuters)