Middle East Situation | Trump demands the military submit a plan to seize Iran's nuclear materials

Citing sources that were successively reported by The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, the U.S. military has submitted a plan to President Trump involving the dispatch of ground forces to seize more than 460 kilograms of highly enriched uranium inside Iran.

It is understood that the plan involves airlifting excavation equipment to the site and building a runway so that cargo aircraft can move out nearly 1,000 pounds of nuclear material.

According to reports, Trump previously asked the military to submit the relevant proposal. Over the past week, the military briefed Trump on this complex plan and also explained the major operational risks it entails. It is understood that Trump’s request shows he is considering an extremely sensitive special operations mission with very high risk.

Limiting Iran’s ability to manufacture nuclear weapons remains the Trump administration’s top priority, but experts say the plan is extremely difficult; in wartime, no similar attempt has ever been made. The mission would require airlifting hundreds or even thousands of troops and heavy equipment to support the excavation and recovery of radioactive material. Based on estimates by former defense officials, this could take several weeks, and it would have to be carried out amid intense fighting within Iran.