JD Vance sparks outrage with answer to question about Iran’s uranium

JD Vance has sparked backlash online with his very blunt answer to a question about the location of Iran’s uranium.

For those not up to speed, Iran reportedly moved an 400kg stockpile of near-bomb-grade uranium to a secret location before the US launched strikes on its nuclear bases over the weekend.

Enriched uranium is largely used as fuel for nuclear reactors and as a fissile component in nuclear weapons.

Following the American strikes, Donald Trump announced that bases in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan had been ‘completely and totally obliterated’.

The US president claimed he took a nuclear bomb ‘right out of Iran’s hands’, during the operation, which has been named ‘Midnight Hammer’.

However, according to the Telegraph, officials believe that most of the material, which is used to produce nuclear weapons, was actually moved elsewhere before the attack.

A senior Iranian source also told Reuters that most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordow had been moved.

So, understandably, worry is growing about the location of the ‘missing’ material, which according to reports is enough to make up to 10 nuclear weapons.

And the newest comments from the United States' vice president, 40, have not left people particularly reassured.

In a TV interview with Fox News, Vance was quizzed on whether he knows ‘for sure’ where all of the highly enriched uranium is.

Slightly dodging the question, he responded: “Well, I think that’s actually not the question before us.

“I think the question before us is can Iran enrich the uranium to a weapons grade level? And can they convert that fuel to a nuclear weapon?”

JD Vance has divided opinion with his response to a question on Iran's uranium (Fox News)

He continued: “And we know based on the success of our mission, of course the leadership of our president, the incredible skill of our military, that the two mission objectives were completely successful.

“We know that they can not build a nuclear weapon, but you asked about the highly enriched uranium. What we know is that uranium is something that exists in very large supply.

“Our goal was to bury the uranium and I do think the uranium is buried, but our goal was to eliminate the enrichment and eliminate their ability to enrich fuel into a nuclear weapon.”

Vance added: “I think that’s an important point because so many of the folks who have focussed on the highly enriched uranium - the main focus has been to destroy their enrichment capacity because we don’t want that 60 percent uranium to become 90 percent uranium.

“That’s the real concern and that’s what was so successful about our mission.”

In simpler terms, the vice president is claiming that although they may not know the exact location, they’ve destroyed the facility that is used to turn the enriched uranium into nuclear weapons.

Vance appeared to redirect the question when quizzed on the subject (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

But not everyone was satisfied with this response, and social media users were quick to have their say.

Responding to the clip on X, one user wrote: “It’s pretty much the only question that matters right now.”

Another angrily wrote: “You are a moron, they will need to provide it as part of negotiation, and they cannot enrich it further without the centrifuged.”

While a third penned: “It doesn't matter?!?! Well, if it doesn't matter, the mission didn't matter, and therefore there was no point spending millions of dollars on the mission - and risking people's lives.”

But, one user who was on Vance’s side chimed in with: “He's got a great point. They can't make a bomb with the material, they can't make any more.”

Someone else agreed: “The point about the equipment and infrastructure that is needed to use it… it’s useless by itself.”