US President Donald Trump is weighing the option of deploying special forces on the ground to seize Iran’s enriched uranium, as officials grow increasingly concerned the stockpile may have been moved, Bloomberg reported, citing three diplomatic officials briefed on the matter.
According to the official cited in the report, uncertainty over Iran’s highly enriched uranium has intensified because it’s been almost nine months since United Nations atomic inspectors last verified its location, since the US and Israel struck key nuclear facilities during last June’s 12-day war. Follow LIVE updates on the US-Iran war here
One of the stated aims of the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which began on February 28, has been to rid the Islamic Republic of any capability to produce nuclear weapons. But the task of tracking the said uranium has already been made very complicated due to last June's strikes on the country's atomic facilities.
According to the report, it is unclear whether the special operation would be conducted by US or Israeli forces or if it would be conducted at all.
{{/usCountry}}According to the report, it is unclear whether the special operation would be conducted by US or Israeli forces or if it would be conducted at all.
{{/usCountry}}US officials confident of locations of uranium stockpile
As per the Bloomberg report, US officials have expressed confidence that they know where Iran is storing its uranium. Ahead of the ongoing conflict, Vienna-based UN watchdog - the International Atomic Energy Agency- observed activity outside tunnels built into a hillside near Isfahan.
The report adds that the stockpile is sufficient for around a dozen nuclear warheads if refined.
Iran to ‘preserve’ material
In the wake of the latest attack, Iran has stated it will take "special measures" to preserve the material.
"The agency should not expect safeguard measures to be implemented under such wartime conditions as if hostilities had not occurred,” said Reza Najafi, Iran’s envoy to the IAEA.
Ahead of the fighting, Iran and the US were locked in intense nuclear talks, first in Oman and then in Switzerland. During these talks, Tehran has signalled that it would be open to reducing or exporting its uranium stockpile as part of a diplomatic agreement.
However, before the fourth round of talks could begin, the US and Israel launched its attack on Iran, brining the Middle East region to the brink of a regional war.