President Donald Trump may send special operations forces to Iran to seize the Islamic Republic’s nuclear material.
According to three diplomatic sources speaking with Bloomberg, the President is considering using special operations forces in Iran to gain control over Tehran’s roughly 400 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium.
“They haven’t been able to get to it and at some point, maybe we will,” Trump said Saturday. “We haven’t gone after it, but it’s something we can do later on. We wouldn’t do it now.” The President restated on Sunday that he was open to using ground forces in Iran under some conditions.
The US and Israel are waging a massive bombing campaign against Iran that has targeted leadership and civilian targets. An oil storage facility in Tehran was hit and burned to the ground. The fire posed a risk of toxic rain over the city of 10 million people.
One issue preventing the US operations is that Washington does not know the location of the nuclear material. Tehran is believed to have relocated roughly 1,000 pounds of 60% enriched uranium before the US and Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear sites in June.
US intelligence and the international nuclear watchdog have concluded that Iran has not attempted to weaponize its civilian nuclear program. The Islamic Republic has long abided by a religious decree that bans nuclear weapons.
That policy could change with the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He was killed in the surprise US and Israeli attack on Iran that started the war.
