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Early US Intel assessment suggests strikes on Iran did not destroy nuclear sites

(www.cnn.com)
122 points jbegley | 2 comments | 24 Jun 25 19:04 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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dantillberg ◴[24 Jun 25 20:19 UTC] No.44370597[source]▶
> Two of the people familiar with the assessment said Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not destroyed.

Is it even possible to "destroy" enriched uranium? It would seem to me that the most one might achieve by blowing it up with bombs is to spread it out a little bit.

replies(1): >>44370616 #
mulmen ◴[24 Jun 25 20:22 UTC] No.44370616[source]▶
> Is it even possible to "destroy" enriched uranium?

Yes, obviously you can cause it to go critical.

But that wasn’t the question. A stockpile can be destroyed by simply redistributing the contents in a way they cannot be easily retrieved.

replies(2): >>44370897 #>>44372766 #
1. dzhiurgis ◴[25 Jun 25 01:10 UTC] No.44372766[source]▶
US should’ve just contaminated area slightly enough so that cleanup is impossible. Same outcome and 100% guaranteed success.
replies(1): >>44379204 #
2. giardini ◴[25 Jun 25 16:36 UTC] No.44379204[source]▶
That is a good idea and possibly would make processing or handling traceable (by adding easily-traced material to the scene).