The war is “not over” for Netanyahu, Iranian uranium must be “withdrawn”

The war in Iran is “not over” because it is still necessary to “withdraw from Iran” the stocks of enriched uranium, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared to the American channel CBS, during an interview broadcast on Sunday.

“We go in there and take it out”

The war “has accomplished a lot, but it is not over, because there are still nuclear materials – enriched uranium – that need to be removed from Iran”, he said, adding that there were also “enrichment sites to dismantle”.

Asked how he planned to “get” the uranium out of Iran, he said: “We’ll go in and get it out.”

“What President Trump told me was: I want to go.” And I think it’s physically possible. That’s not the problem. If we have a deal and we go in and release it, why not? This is the best solution,” he added.

“We will eventually get him back (…) we are watching him closely,” declared the American president in a separate interview broadcast on Sunday, recorded earlier in the week. “If anyone comes near the place, we will know, and we will blow them up,” he added to independent journalist Sharyl Attkisson.

441 kilos d’uranium enrichi à 60 %

The fate of enriched uranium held by Iran is one of the issues at the heart of discussions between Tehran and Washington with a view to lasting peace. The latest public data available dates back to just before the Twelve Day War in June 2025.

According to inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran then had 441 kilos of uranium enriched to 60%, close to the 90% threshold allowing the manufacture of the nuclear bomb, 180 kilos enriched to 20% and more than 6 tonnes to 5%. The 60% stock was distributed across three sites: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.

Since the Israeli-American strikes of June 2025 and then those of this year, the fate of this stock remains uncertain in the absence of IAEA inspections: is it buried as Tehran claims? Has any part been moved or destroyed? “If it’s the International Atomic Energy Agency that’s in charge (of recovering the uranium, editor’s note), that’s fine with us too,” said US Energy Minister Chris Wright in another interview with CBS on Sunday.

“Like a scaffolding”

Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped for the end of Iranian power, which would mean the fall, “like a scaffolding”, of Iran’s proxies in Yemen (Houthis), Gaza (Hamas) and Lebanon (Hezbollah). “Is it possible? Yes. Is it certain? No”, he replied.

“Iran continues to support these proxies, who seek to produce ballistic missiles. We have reduced them a lot but they are still there and there is still work to do,” observed the head of the Israeli government. As President Trump travels to China this week, he said he knows that Beijing supports Tehran’s military arsenal. “China is giving some support, especially missile manufacturing components,” he said, declining to say more.

Mr. Netanyahu estimated the aid his country receives each year from Washington at $3.8 billion (3.2 billion euros) and said he wanted to reduce this amount “to zero”, at a time when voices are being raised in the United States to denounce support for Israel. “I believe it is time that we learn to do without this military support,” he said. “Let’s start now and move forward 10 years.”