The Trump administration is considering a plan to move nuclear materials out of Iran. The goal is to remove the nuclear threat once and for all, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday morning. President Donald Trump has not yet decided whether to give the order, but he is said to be open to the idea because it could help achieve his main goal of stopping Iran from ever developing a nuclear weapon.
Before Israel and the United States carried out a series of airstrikes on Iran in June last year, the country was believed to have a large stockpile of enriched uranium. According to international estimates, Iran had more than 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, along with nearly 200 kilograms enriched to 20%.
Uranium enriched to 60% is already very close to weapons-grade, which is about 90%. Experts say this means the material could be further refined into nuclear weapons relatively quickly.
The 20% enriched uranium is also important because it can be more easily turned into higher-grade material, making it another key part of Iran’s nuclear stockpile.
AFSI’s take:
The demand for uranium, or “nuclear dust,” is strategically sound, as preventing Iran from reconstituting a nuclear program is a valid objective. The diplomatic approach, wherein Iran voluntarily surrenders the material, is significantly more desirable but is contingent upon negotiations that have not yet officially commenced. Should the option of forced extraction be pursued, it would constitute one of the most intricate and perilous military operations in recent US history. If this objective is accomplished, the question arises as to how Iran’s leadership can be definitively prevented from recommencing the construction of a nuclear weapon. We posit that the current regime will perpetually strive to achieve nuclear capability. Our aspiration is for their complete removal and replacement with a government that will — in the words of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi at the recent CPAC conference — substitute the slogan “Death to Israel” with “G-d Bless Israel.”
Source:
Trump’s Secret Plan to Extract Iran’s Enriched Uranium, by David Israel/The Jewish Edition