Trump weighing risky ground op to seize enriched uranium: report

Officials say the plan could secure 1,000 pounds of material for creating a nuclear weapon.

By World Israel News Staff

President Donald Trump is considering ordering U.S. special forces to carry out a limited ground operation aimed at seizing Iran’s enriched uranium, but he has not yet made a final decision, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

U.S. officials told the Journal that the proposed mission — considered extremely risky for the troops involved — would see the soldiers recover roughly 1,000 pounds of enriched uranium believed to be present in the Islamic Republic.

Trump has not yet authorized the operation, citing concerns about potential U.S. casualties, according to the report. However, officials noted that such a mission would directly support his stated objective of preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

In recent days, the arrival of thousands of U.S. troops in the Middle East has fueled speculation that Washington may be preparing for a broader ground invasion of Iran, though no such plan has been confirmed.

Iranian officials have signaled they are preparing for that possibility. Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and one of the few senior figures to avoid being killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes since the outbreak of the war, accused the United States of misleading the international community.

In a public statement, Ghalibaf warned that while Washington presents itself as open to negotiations, it is secretly preparing for a ground incursion.

He added that Iranian forces are already “waiting for American soldiers to enter on the ground so they can rain fire upon them.”

At the same time, the White House has stopped short of confirming any plans for a ground operation. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized that military planning does not necessarily indicate imminent action.

“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” regarding a ground operation, she stressed.