U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday raised the possibility of deploying American troops to Iran to secure the country’s enriched uranium stockpiles. “Maybe at some point we will. That would be great,” he said aboard Air Force One.
(Keystone-ATS) The possibility was described as “something we could do later. But not now,” according to the President.
The White House has asserted, among other justifications for its offensive against Iran, that the country has amassed uranium enrichment stocks nearing the threshold for nuclear weapon production.
Steve Witkoff, a special U.S. Envoy who conducted indirect negotiations with Tehran, stated earlier this week on Fox News that Iran possesses “about 460 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%” and that “this material at 60% could be brought to 90%, the level for making a bomb, in about a week, maybe ten days.”
Rafael Grossi, the head of the United Nations nuclear agency (IAEA), wrote on the social media platform X on March 3: “There is no evidence that Iran is making a nuclear bomb, but its significant stock of uranium enriched to a degree close to that necessary for a weapon and its refusal to give my inspectors full access are a source of serious concern.”
