Military presents Trump with plan to seize Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles — newspaper

WASHINGTON, April 2. /TASS/. US servicemen presented President Donald Trump with a plan to seize Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium, developed at his request, The Washington Post reported. According to the newspaper, "the US military has given the president a plan to seize nearly 1,000 pounds (about 454 kilograms - TASS) of highly enriched uranium in Iran that would involve flying in excavation equipment and building a runway for cargo planes to take the radioactive material out." The article emphasized that "the complex plan was briefed to the president in the past week after he asked for a proposal," "as were its significant operational risks." The newspaper pointed out that this would be "a very difficult endeavor of a type never before attempted in wartime." Seizing Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium is a "top goal" for the Washington administration. The plan would require "the airlift of potentially hundreds or thousands of troops and heavy equipment." According to the estimates cited, "that could take weeks." The operation would "take place under fire deep inside Iran." One expert noted this could be the most complex operation of its kind in history. In turn, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Washington Post: "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." The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also hit. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian leaders were killed in the joint US-Israeli attack.