Report: Trump Weighing Special Ops Raid to Secure Iran’s Enriched Uranium Stockpile

President Donald Trump is weighing options that could include deploying special operations forces into Iran to secure or destroy highly enriched uranium stockpiles as part of his pledge that Tehran “will not have a nuclear bomb,” according to multiple reports Saturday. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump suggested the possibility of a ground operation had not been ruled out, saying U.S. forces could move in at a later stage of the conflict if necessary. “Right now we’re just decimating them, but we haven’t gone after it,” Trump said, referring to Iran’s nuclear material. “But something we could do later on. We wouldn’t do it now.”

Axios reported Saturday that U.S. and Israeli officials have discussed sending special operations forces into Iran to secure the regime’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium once Tehran’s military capabilities are sufficiently degraded. The outlet reported that Iran possesses roughly 450 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, material that could potentially be converted to weapons-grade fuel within weeks.

According to the report, officials have debated whether the material would be physically removed from Iran or diluted on site by nuclear specialists working alongside special operations units, possibly including scientists from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Secretary of State Marco Rubio hinted at the challenge earlier this week during a congressional briefing when asked if Iran’s uranium would be secured.

“People are going to have to go and get it,” Rubio said, without specifying which country’s forces might carry out such a mission. A U.S. official told Axios the operational questions remain complex, including determining the precise location of the uranium and how troops would safely reach and secure it. “The first question is, where is it?” the official said. “The second question is, how do we get to it and how do we get physical control?” (Read More)