President Donald Trump said on March 9 that the U.S. government has not reached a decision about sending American forces into Iran to seize and safeguard highly enriched uranium, describing any move toward deployment as distant from happening.
"We haven’t made any decision on that. We’re nowhere near it," Trump told the New York Post when questioned about reports of discussions between Israel and the United States on the possible use of special forces to secure uranium stockpiles inside Iran.
The president’s remarks came amid a recent escalation in hostilities tied to a long-running dispute over Iran’s nuclear program. The tension intensified roughly ten days earlier when the United States and Israel carried out strikes against Iran, and Iran subsequently conducted attacks across the Middle East in response.
Last month, the president asserted that Iran was beginning to rebuild its nuclear program, a claim tied to earlier U.S. strikes in June of the previous year that he said had "obliterated" that program. The statement repeated a contested characterization and was offered without accompanying evidence in the comments cited.
Iran has consistently denied any desire to obtain nuclear weapons. Iranian officials say the country’s uranium enrichment activities are intended for civilian ends. The process of enriching uranium can yield material suitable for either power generation or, if enrichment continues to higher levels, for nuclear warheads - the differentiating factor being the duration and extent of the enrichment process.
The president’s indication that a deployment decision is not imminent leaves open the range of policy options under consideration, while confirming that discussions reported publicly - including those reportedly involving Israel - have not translated into an approved operational step to move U.S. troops into Iran to secure atomic material.
Contextual note - The exchange reported here focuses on official statements and reported discussions; it does not report on any operational planning details or timelines beyond the president’s public comment that no decision has been made.