Overview
- In a Fox News interview, President Trump said taking Iran’s enriched uranium is not necessary except for public relations and claimed a ground extraction could take about a week and a half.
- Reporting from multiple administration sources says he keeps asking aides about plans to send U.S. troops to capture and remove the stockpile inside Iran.
- Senior and Cabinet officials warn such a mission could be a bloodbath with high U.S. casualties and major logistics, noting the material is bulky and heavy to move.
- Analysts say his public ambivalence weakens U.S. leverage in talks with Tehran by signaling that removal of the stockpile may not be a firm demand.
- Iran’s stockpile is reported at roughly 970 pounds enriched to about 60%, which is below weapons grade but, if further enriched, could yield material for an estimated 10 to 12 bombs.