CBS News: Trump administration weighs options to secure Iran’s nuclear materials

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has been weighing options to secure or remove Iran’s nuclear materials, according to multiple people briefed on internal discussions by CBS News, as a U.S.-Israel-led military campaign against Tehran enters an increasingly uncertain phase.

The timing of any potential operation — should President Trump authoriase one — remained unclear as of the night of March 20. One source said no final decision has yet been made.

Planning has reportedly focused on the possible deployment of forces from the Joint Special Operations Command, an elite U.S. military unit frequently assigned to highly sensitive counter-proliferation missions, two of the sources told CBS News.

U.S. officials have indicated that the administration has not ruled out efforts to retrieve Iran’s stockpiles of highly enriched uranium as part of the current military campaign. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters earlier this week that “it's an option on the table for him.”

Any mission to seize the uranium would be complex and carry significant risks.

“We're talking about cylinders containing gas of highly contaminated uranium hexafluoride at 60%, so it's very difficult to handle,” Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told CBS News’ Face the Nation this week. “I'm not saying it's impossible. I know that there are incredible military capacities to do that, but it would be [a] very challenging operation for sure.”

By Sabina Mammadli