Tel Aviv: In a dramatic turn in the escalating Israel-Iran conflict, Iranian authorities reportedly moved a significant quantity of enriched uranium and sensitive equipment from the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant just days before the United States launched powerful airstrikes on the facility, according to Israeli officials cited by The New York Times.

Roughly 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity, just below weapons-grade level, was shifted from the underground site as the Trump administration weighed the possibility of deploying ground troops, the officials said. The preemptive move has raised fresh questions over whether Tehran had anticipated the strikes.

On Sunday, the U.S. military launched a coordinated assault on three of Iran’s most critical nuclear sites—Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. President Donald Trump confirmed the targets, declaring the nuclear facilities had been "completely and totally obliterated."

However, satellite imagery released by Maxar Technologies suggests Iran may have been preparing for the assault. Images captured on June 19 and 20 showed heightened activity at Fordow, located deep beneath a mountain south of Tehran. Dozens of cargo trucks, bulldozers, and military vehicles were observed entering and later repositioning around the facility, an unusual pattern not seen since the earlier Israeli strikes on June 13.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the US attacks as "outrageous" and said his country had a right to defend its sovereignty.

"The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences," he posted on social media, calling the attacks "lawless and criminal" behaviour.

Araghchi later said the United States and Israel crossed "a very big red line" with the attacks, and said he would head to Moscow later Sunday for talks with President Vladimir Putin.