Rationale for Iran war questioned after Trump says ‘I don’t care’ about regime’s uranium stockpiles

US president’s apparent decision to leave highly enriched uranium in hands of regime creates a more risky scenario than before the war began, experts say Donald Trump has said he does not care about Iran’s stock of highly enriched uranium (HEU), arguing it was deep underground and could be monitored by satellite, raising questions about one of the key US justifications for the war. Experts said that if the US-Israeli offensive against Iran concluded with the Tehran government still in control of its 440kg HEU stockpile, it would be significantly closer to the capability of making nuclear warheads than if the US had pursued a potential negotiated settlement that was on the table at the time the US and Israel launched the war on 28 February. Asked about the stockpile by Reuters news agency on Wednesday, Trump said: “That’s so far underground, I don’t care about that.” “We’ll always be watching it by satellite,” he added. In his address to the nation from the White House on Wednesday night, Trump elaborated: “If we see them make a move, even a move for it, we will hit them with missiles very hard again.” Unless they were intended as a ruse to put Tehran off its g