Energy Secretary Warns Iran Weeks Away from Weapons-Grade Uranium Despite US Military Campaign
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that Iran is frighteningly close to acquiring a nuclear weapon. Despite Operation Epic Fury, a US-led military campaign initiated in February 2026 to halt Tehran's nuclear ambitions, Wright stated Iran is only weeks away from enriching its stockpile to weapons-grade levels. Although a months-long weaponization process remains, approximately one ton of Iran's 60% enriched uranium is near the 90% threshold required for bombs. This assessment follows Operation Midnight Hammer, a June 2025 airstrike using B-2 bombers that damaged but did not destroy fortified nuclear facilities near Isfahan. The war has cost over $29 billion, prompting requests for additional Pentagon funding. While Iranian leadership denies seeking nuclear arms, US officials, including President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have threatened further military action to seize or destroy remaining stockpiles. Experts warn Iran retains enough material for over a dozen bombs, highlighting the limited success of recent US military interventions in curbing Tehran's nuclear capabilities.
Editorial responsibility
- No named human review is recorded for this page.
- Reports are grouped by semantic similarity and deterministic rules. Language models may assist titles, summaries, translation and cross-source analysis; the page itself is projected from evidence records.
- Current automated evidence projection