US and Israel discuss options to deploy troops to seize Iran's uranium

Moscow (ANTARA) – The United States and Israel are reported to be discussing the possibility of sending special forces to Iran to seize highly enriched uranium stocks in the next stage of the ongoing conflict. According to Axios on Sunday, citing four sources familiar with the discussions, U.S. President Donald Trump previously indicated that American troops could be sent to Iran in the future to secure the enriched uranium belonging to the country. Axios, citing an unnamed U.S. official, said the Trump administration has discussed two main options regarding handling the uranium. The first option is to move all enriched uranium material out of Iran. The second is to send nuclear weapons experts to Iran to directly reduce the enrichment level of the uranium on site. The mission is expected to involve scientists from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), according to the report. The IAEA is widely known as the international watchdog that monitors the nuclear programmes of various countries to ensure compliance with non-proliferation agreements. Axios reported that the operation plan had previously been one of the options presented to President Trump before the conflict began. The report cites two sources stating that the scenario of deploying special forces had been discussed in early US security policy planning. Israeli defence officials are also said to have followed the discussions. One Israeli defence official said that Trump and his advisers were seriously considering the option of deploying troops to carry out a limited mission in Iran’s territory. Source: Sputnik/RIA Novosti