Head Of French Intel Says There Is No Certainty About The Existence Of Iran's Uranium Stock

JAKARTA - France's intelligence chief said on Tuesday that all aspects of Iran's nuclear program experienced setbacks months after the US and Israeli airstrikes, but there was still uncertainty over the presence of high-enriched uranium stocks.

"Iran's nuclear program is the material, enriched uranium, the capacity to convert this uranium from a gas phase to a solid phase. The uranium core is produced and the uranium core is delivered," French DGSE Head Nicolas Lerner told LCI television.

"Our assessment today is that each of these stages has been severely affected, severely damaged, and nuclear programs, as we know, have suffered a very long setback, perhaps months," he added.

Lerner, who for the first time spoke on national television, said a small part of Iran's high-enriched uranium stock had been destroyed, but the rest was still in the hands of the authorities.

"Today we have indications (where the location is), but we can't be sure for sure as long as the IAEA hasn't restarted its work. This is very important. We won't have the capacity to track it (stok)," said Lerner.

Another intelligence assessment also shows Iran holds hidden enriched uranium reserves and has the technical capacity to rebuild.

Lerner echoed the comments, saying it was possible Iran could continue a secret program with a smaller enrichment capacity.

"That's why France is eager to find a diplomatic solution to this nuclear crisis," he said.