WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has been examining plans to seize Iran’s enriched nuclear material, CBS News reported Friday, citing sources familiar with internal discussions. Officials have not set a timeframe and President Trump has not made a final decision, the report said.
Sources told CBS the planning has centered on possible use of Joint Special Operations Command forces, a U.S. unit frequently assigned to sensitive counter-proliferation tasks. The operation, if approved, would be complex and hazardous.
The International Atomic Energy Agency reported last summer that Iran held roughly 972 pounds of uranium enriched to about 60 percent — a short technical step from weapons-grade material. Much of that inventory remains at nuclear sites that U.S. strikes hit last year during what was called Operation Midnight Hammer.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said this week that removing those stockpiles “is an option on the table for him.” But IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi warned that seizing such material would demand “incredible military capabilities,” noting the logistical and safety challenges posed by cylinders of uranium hexafluoride gas enriched to 60 percent.
U.S. intelligence assessed last spring that Tehran was not actively attempting to build a nuclear weapon, and Iran continues to say its program is for peaceful purposes. The IAEA has also said Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon state known to enrich uranium to the 60 percent level.
Before the current escalation, U.S. and Iranian delegates — with mediation help from Oman — held talks that reportedly addressed options such as blending down highly enriched uranium and converting it into reactor fuel.
The CBS account came as President Trump posted on Truth Social that the United States is nearing its objectives and is considering a possible winding down of operations against Iran.
Separately, U.S. military updates said hundreds or thousands of Iranian targets were struck in Operation Epic Fury. U.S. Central Command reported that its forces have damaged or sunk more than 120 Iranian naval vessels, including all 11 of Iran’s submarines, and listed a wide range of targets struck: command-and-control sites, Revolutionary Guard and intelligence facilities, air defenses, missile sites, weapons production and storage bunkers, military infrastructure, communications nodes, and naval assets.
The administration also honored personnel killed in the campaign. President Trump, commentator Pete Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, paid tribute to six KC-135 Stratotanker crew members who, along with seven other service members, died during Operation Epic Fury.
On the question of a ceasefire, Trump said outside the White House that Washington is not seeking one now: “We can have dialogue, but I don’t want to do a ceasefire. You don’t do a ceasefire when you’re literally obliterating the other side. We’re not looking to do that.”
