US Considers Idea of Special Operation to Seize Iran’s Uranium
The strikes on atomic facilities last June complicated the task of tracking the Islamic Republic’s stockpile.
An anti-US and Israeli billboard next to portraits of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders and nuclear scientists who were killed in attacks, in Tehran.
Photographer: NurPhoto/Getty Images
President Donald Trump is weighing the option of deploying special forces on the ground to seize Iran’s near-bomb-grade uranium, as officials grow increasingly concerned the stockpile may have been moved, according to three diplomatic officials briefed on the matter.
The US and Israel struck key nuclear facilities during last June’s 12-day war. Uncertainty over Iran’s highly enriched uranium has intensified because it’s almost nine months since United Nations atomic inspectors last verified its location, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss restricted deliberations.