President Donald Trump is seriously weighing a military operation to extract nearly 1,000 pounds of highly enriched uranium from Iran, insisting Tehran must surrender what he called the regime’s “nuclear dust” or face annihilation, according to a report published Sunday night.
The Wall Street Journal reported Trump has not made a final decision, but remains open to a risky mission that could place American forces inside Iran for days or longer to secure material he has made clear Tehran cannot be allowed to keep.
Trump reinforced that position hours later aboard Air Force One, warning that Iran must do what the United States demands or “they’re not going to have a country.” Referring to the uranium, he added, “They’re going to give us the nuclear dust.”
The report said Trump has encouraged advisers to press Iran to hand over the material as part of any settlement ending the conflict, while also discussing the possibility of taking it by force if Tehran refuses.
Officials cited in the report said Trump has stopped short of publicly committing to such an operation, but has signaled privately that preventing Iran from retaining enriched uranium remains a central objective of the campaign.
Even so, Trump continued Sunday night to signal he still sees a possible diplomatic off-ramp. He said the United States is “doing extremely well” in negotiations with Iran and indicated a deal could soon be reached, while cautioning, “You never know with Iran.”
Still, the Journal reported any effort to seize the uranium militarily would rank among the most dangerous operations under consideration, with former U.S. military officials and nuclear experts warning the mission could trigger retaliation, prolong the conflict, and require combat troops, engineers, specialized transport teams, and makeshift airfield operations inside hostile territory.
Teams would likely need to fly into heavily defended sites, secure the material under threat of Iranian missiles, drones, and ground fire, and transport it out under tightly controlled conditions — a complex operation that could take days or longer.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi has said he believes most of the uranium is located at two of the three sites struck by the United States and Israel last June — an underground tunnel complex at Isfahan and a cache at Natanz.
Before those strikes, Iran was believed to possess more than 400 kilograms — roughly 880 pounds — of uranium enriched to 60 percent, along with nearly 200 kilograms of 20 percent fissile material. Experts have warned the 60 percent stockpile can be rapidly enriched to weapons-grade levels.
The concern has been sharpened by failed diplomacy leading up to the current operation. President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said Iranian negotiators made clear during talks that Tehran would not relinquish its enrichment program, insisting it would not give up diplomatically what the United States could not take militarily.
Witkoff added the Iranians also boasted about their enriched uranium stockpile and its potential weapons capability.
The Journal further noted Iran retains centrifuges needed to enrich that uranium further, as well as the capability to establish a new underground enrichment site, meaning the existing stockpile could still be used to produce multiple nuclear weapons if left intact.
The material itself is believed to be stored in dozens of specialized cylinders resembling scuba tanks that would need to be placed into transportation casks and removed under tightly secured conditions — a process experts said could take days or even a week.
“This is not a quick in and out kind of deal,” retired Gen. Joseph Votel, the former commander of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command, told the outlet.
Votel also told Breitbart News earlier this month that preventing Iran from rebuilding its nuclear program will ultimately require the regime to relinquish control of the material and allow an outside authority to take custody of it.
“Ultimately, the regime leadership has to be compelled or convinced to give up this pursuit and they need to allow a cognizant authority to come in and take control of the HEU and verify that the program is shut down,” Votel said.
While he noted this “could be done by the U.S. military,” he added it would “probably be better done through the IAEA — with our support and perhaps that of some others.”
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Even so, Trump and some allies have privately argued a targeted operation could remove the uranium without dramatically extending the conflict, according to the report, as the administration continues to publicly maintain it wants operations wrapped up within the four-to-six-week window it has outlined.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized that Pentagon planning does not reflect a final decision, telling the Journal, “It’s the job of the Pentagon to make preparations in order to give the commander-in-chief maximum optionality. It does not mean the president has made a decision.”
The reported deliberations come as broader Pentagon preparations are already underway. As Breitbart News reported Saturday, the Pentagon has been preparing for potential weeks-long ground operations inside Iran, including Special Operations raids and limited infantry missions, while additional Marines and elements of the 82nd Airborne Division move into the region as part of a contingency posture.
Breitbart News also reported Friday that Marines aboard the USS Tripoli and paratroopers in Europe have been conducting chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) defense drills as they head toward the region — preparations that underscore the hazards tied to any ground mission involving Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
The urgency behind the uranium debate has only intensified as questions mount over what remains of Iran’s nuclear doctrine following the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the opening strikes of the operation.
Israeli media reported Sunday that Tehran’s long-cited “nuclear fatwa” — the regime’s supposed religious prohibition on atomic weapons — has not been reaffirmed by successor leadership under Mojtaba Khamenei, who was controversially elevated after his father’s death and has not been seen publicly since reportedly being severely wounded in the opening strikes.
Trump added to that uncertainty Sunday night, saying Khamenei’s son “may be alive,” but is “very seriously wounded.”
Trump likewise signaled Sunday that military pressure remains firmly in place even as negotiations continue. He said the United States is “weeks ahead of schedule” in the conflict, described Iran as “decimated,” and said Washington is now dealing with “a new group of people” in Tehran — while warning, “You never know with Iran.”
For now, the central question is whether Iran agrees to surrender its uranium through negotiations — or whether Trump ultimately decides only a direct U.S. operation can ensure the regime never rebuilds what remains of its nuclear program.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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