President of the United States Donald Trump revealed that he had considered a plan to send U.S. troops into Iran to extract its enriched uranium stockpile, but ultimately shelved it amid resurgent tensions in the Middle East and ongoing diplomatic negotiations.Trump said the plan was rejected because it was assessed as “too risky” and would require widespread military mobilization. He noted that the operation would take at least two weeks and involve transporting a large amount of military equipment into Iran. “I don’t want to be like Jimmy Carter,” he said of the former president’s failed 1980 effort to rescue 52 U.S. embassy workers held hostage by Iran.Trump has called the nuclear material “nuclear fallout” and said Pentagon planners have looked into multiple ways to recycle the stockpile.Although the proposal has been shelved, Trump has insisted that the United States still has the capability to conduct such an operation. “We can get it now,” he added. “I don’t think they can stop us if we want to, but there’s no reason to. It’s buried.” The US president further mentioned that the material was currently safe and did not require immediate action, saying Washington did not need a formal agreement with Tehran to control enriched uranium.Trump also said he was not inclined to hold a direct meeting with Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba KhameneiBut he did not rule out the possibility of a broader diplomatic understanding between the two countries. “If it happened… I would be respectful,” he said.Islamic cleric Mojtaba Khamenei, 54, took over Iran’s supreme leadership after his father was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli military strike. Trump said that despite the precise actions taken by the United States and Israel against members of Khamenei’s immediate family, he still expected the Iranian leader to behave professionally. “We killed his father, his wife and his son, so I was probably not his favorite person.… But actually, in some circles, he has a very good reputation,” Trump said.Meanwhile, top U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on Thursday to consult with technical experts expected to play a key role in upcoming nuclear talks with Iran, an Axios report said.The White House is working to sign a memorandum of understanding with Tehran aimed at halting hostilities and moving forward with comprehensive nuclear talks. However, officials and regional mediators involved in the process said the two sides remained deeply divided over key elements of the proposed agreement.Although talks are said to be in the final stages, officials have warned that the likelihood of a breakthrough remains uncertain. One U.S. official said the Oak Ridge trip should not be viewed as a guarantee of a deal but a sign that talks have entered a more serious phase.Key sticking points remain stymieing progress, with the Trump administration pressing for a 60-day deadline to reduce Iran’s uranium enrichment, while Tehran is sticking to a 90-day timetable.At the same time, three months have passed since the chaos in the Middle East and it is now approaching the 100-day mark. The conflict began on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched a joint strike against Iran. After the attack, the country retaliated by squeezing the vital Strait of Hormuz, disrupting 20% of global oil supplies and triggering a chain reaction across economies.
