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2d ago

Trump Rules Out Seizing Iran’s Uranium as Experts Detail High-Risk Ground Option

Experts say negotiated, IAEA‑supervised removal would be safer than a raid.

FILE - This photo combination shows, from left, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Grossi, in Vienna, Austria, March 2, 2026, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, March 19, 2026, on Capitol Hill in Washington, and Defense Undersecretary Christine E. Wormuth on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 16, 2015. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader, Tom Brenner, Pablo Martinez Monsivais, file)
FILE - An Iranian security official in protective clothing walks through part of the Uranium Conversion Facility just outside the Iranian city of Isfahan, March 30, 2005. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
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Overview

  • President Trump said the United States is not considering an operation to seize Iran’s nuclear materials and called the stockpile hard to retrieve.
  • Independent specialists told the Associated Press that any forcible recovery would be complex and could require about 1,000 troops, with a real risk of casualties.
  • The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran holds about 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% and inspectors have not verified it since June 2025.
  • The stockpile is stored as uranium hexafluoride gas in metal cylinders that can release highly toxic fluorine if damaged, creating severe chemical and radiation hazards.
  • Nuclear security experts favor a negotiated handover under IAEA oversight, citing past removals such as 1994’s Project Sapphire and the U.S. Energy Department’s mobile packaging teams.