Iran had moved equipment and uranium from the Fordow nuclear site in recent days before the US strikes on the plant, New York Times reports.

“There was growing evidence that the Iranians, attuned to Mr Trump’s repeated threats to take military action, had removed 400 kilograms, or roughly 880 pounds, of uranium enriched to 60 per cent purity, the Times reports.

The 60pc enriched fuel had been stored deep inside another nuclear complex, near the ancient capital of Isfahan, the report added.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said by text that the fuel had last been seen by his teams of United Nations inspectors about a week before Israel began its attacks on Iran.

In an interview on CNN on Sunday, he added that “Iran has made no secret that they have protected this material.”