Report: US and Israel discussed mission to secure Iran’s uranium

The United States and Israel have discussed the possibility of sending special forces to Iran at a later stage of the war to secure the country’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, Axios reported on Saturday, citing four sources with knowledge of the discussions.

According to the report, the idea would be to deploy ground troops once the military situation allows it, in order to prevent nuclear material from being moved, hidden or used for further enrichment. The discussions reportedly concern a potential operation aimed at physically securing the uranium and placing it under international control.

Iran is believed by Western governments to possess several hundred kilograms of uranium enriched to around 60 per cent purity. Although this level is below the roughly 90 per cent typically associated with nuclear weapons, experts say such material could be further enriched relatively quickly.

Any attempt to secure the material on the ground would pose significant operational challenges. Some of Iran’s nuclear facilities are located deep underground or may be buried under debris after air strikes, which could make access difficult and potentially require specialised units.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the Axios report.

(reuters, su)