‘No Plan To Recover Them’: Iran Says Nuclear Material Under Rubble After Strikes, Signals IAEA Role

Last Updated:March 15, 2026, 9:27 pm IST

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said attacks damaged nuclear facilities, burying enriched material under debris.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. (Image: AFP/File)

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that the country’s nuclear facilities were badly damaged in recent attacks and that the enriched nuclear material remains buried under the debris. In an interview with CBS News, he indicated that Iran currently has no plans to retrieve the material.

Araghchi explained that the facilities were struck during the attacks and that the nuclear materials are now trapped beneath the rubble. He added that although recovery could be considered in the future, any such effort would only take place under the supervision of the relevant international body, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

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During the interview, CBS host Margaret Brennan asked about the status and control of the material.

MARGARET BRENNAN: “Yes. So where is it now? Who has custody of it?”

MINISTER ARAGHCHI: “So, they are, there are under the rubbles. You know, the- our nuclear facilities were attacked, and everything is under the rubbles. Of course, you know there is the possibility to retrieve them, but under the supervision of the agency. If one day we come to the conclusion to do that, it would be under the supervision of the agency. But for the time being, we have no program. We have no plan to recover them from under the rubbles.”

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