Trump: US will seize Iran's enriched uranium "by any means"

Washington (ANTARA) - United States President Donald Trump, on Thursday (30/4), affirmed that the US will secure Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium “by any means”. “We want to get it. We will take it by any means. We will get it. We will get it or we will take it. They will give it to us or we will take it,” the US president said at the White House. “It won’t even be difficult.” Trump’s statement was made amid the ongoing deadlock between the US and Iran, as talks to achieve a permanent end to the conflict—which is currently under a deadline extended by the US president—remain stalled. Several reports state that Iran has proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz while postponing negotiations on its nuclear programme to the next phase. Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, on Wednesday (29/4), said that his agency’s verification efforts are being hindered by security conditions on the ground. He noted that inspectors were scheduled to visit Iran’s newly announced nuclear facility on 13 June last year, but US-Israel attacks began on the same day. “Access was supposed to take place on 13 June, on the day the attacks began,” he said, adding that the timing made the inspection impossible. Grossi stated that the agency had previously closely monitored Iran’s large stockpile of enriched uranium before the conflict escalated.