Trump halted it: Plan for “forced seizure” of Iranian uranium revealed
Trump halted it: Plan for “forced seizure” of Iranian uranium revealed
2026-06-13
Shafaq News – Washington
CNN revealed on Saturday that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Keane, the highest-ranking U.S. general, made a secret and urgent visit to the Central Command (CENTCOM) headquarters in Florida in late May to personally review the military’s plans to send ground troops to Iran with the aim of “forcibly seizing” highly enriched uranium, the key component needed to produce a nuclear weapon.
The network quoted two informed sources as saying that the briefings were so important and sensitive that they prompted Keane to return hastily from a meeting of senior NATO officials in the Belgian capital, Brussels, across the Atlantic to Tampa, Florida, on May 19.
The two sources added that “the urgent and high-level nature of these briefings highlights how close the US administration is to giving the green light to that high-risk ground operation.”
A spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff declined to comment on preparations for a possible operation.
One source indicated that Keane then briefed US President Donald Trump on the options available for such an operation, but Trump decided to hold off (halted the plans) after being warned that such a move would likely lead to a violent Iranian response, which could prolong the war and plunge the global economy into further turmoil. Trump also expressed concern about the possibility of a large number of casualties among US forces, according to informed sources.
These advanced plans for the operation came amid repeated statements by Trump that the United States and Iran were close to reaching an agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz and end negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program.
Trump announced on Thursday that the United States and Iran would sign an agreement soon, possibly over the weekend.
Iran’s enriched uranium is among the most complex issues in the US-Iranian talks to reach an agreement to end the war.
shafaq.com
