Trump ‘planning high-risk operation to seize Iran’s uranium using US troops’

President Donald Trump is considering whether to launch a risky military operation to seize uranium from deep inside Iran, according to US officials, in what would represent a major escalation in the war.

The American president is yet to make a final decision on the plan as the conflict in the Middle East enters its fifth week, but he is said to be open to the idea and weighing up the danger to US troops, according to the Wall Street Journal.

On Sunday, Trump told reporters that Iran must give up its highly enriched uranium for the ongoing war to end.

“They are decimated right now. They’re going to give up nuclear weapons. They’re going to give us the nuclear dust,” he said referring to the uranium.

“They’re going to do everything that we want to do. If they don’t do that, they’re not going to have a country.”

Seizing Iran’s uranium would entail a complex operation involving American troops flying to nuclear sites while under fire from Iranian forces.

Combat troops would need to secure the perimeters of the sites, supported by highly-skilled technical staff and engineers on board to extract the radioactive material. This would need to be carried in around 40 to 50 special cylinders to be transported out of the country without incident.

They would also need to assess the territory for mines and other explosive devices designed to ward off security breaches.

“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,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

The Pentagon have not commented on the reports and a spokesman for US Central Command declined to comment when approached by the WSJ.

Last year, the International Atomic Energy Agency concluded that Iran has 1,000 pounds (400 kilograms) of uranium enriched at 60 per cent. Iran is also reported to have nearly 200 kilograms of 20 per cent fissile material, which can be easily converted to 90 per cent weapons-grade.

Experts say that levels that high are not required for nuclear reactors or medical reasons and could likely be for weapons.

Nuclear weapons require 90 per cent enrichment, while the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 included material that was 80 per cent enriched. A nuclear bomb could still be developed at 60 per cent but wouldn’t be deliverable by missiles.

In June 2025, Israel and the US said they had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities, but it is unclear whether the Iranian establishment transferred the material prior to the bombing or if it remains underground.

IAEA director General Rafael Grossi previously said he believes the uranium is at two of the three sites that were attacked last year including an underground tunnel at a nuclear complex in Isfahan and a cache at Natanz.

Iran is not currently enriching uranium, according to expert assessments, and had previously agreed to give up stockpiling enriched uranium as part of nuclear talks in February, according to Oman’s foreign minister.

Tehran has warned against a ground invasion and said Trump is leading US troops into “the swamp of death”.