Published 00.23
The US was secretly preparing a ground operation to seize Iran’s enriched uranium.
The regime responded by blowing up the tunnels where it is hidden.
Two decisions that could destroy the peace agreement.
Donald Trump expects the US and Iran to sign the peace agreement on Sunday.
But there is one point that can stop everything: the US demand that Iran hand over all enriched uranium, which according to Trump will “destroy their nuclear weapons program”.
A month ago, US top general Dan Caine launched a hasty and secret plan to seize Iran’s uranium using ground troops, reports CNN.
Trump was warned that the decision would lead to a massive escalation and crush the peace negotiations. He therefore decided to pull the handbrake.
Half a ton gone
But Iran is said to have sensed trouble and decided to blow up and mine tunnels where about half a ton of uranium was hidden, according to CNN.
Several US government sources are now flagging that it will be both difficult and dangerous to remove the uranium.
– The Iranians have committed to destroying and removing the enriched material, but how do you do it? It will take time to figure it out. It is highly flammable and unsafe. We’re not just going down there with an excavator and guy with a backpack and pick it up, says a source.
“Worries me”
Former US nuclear decommissioning director Scott Roecker says the data complicates everything.
– In this scenario, I would worry about Iran claiming that the uranium is impossible to reach. We could not be absolutely sure that Iran would not be able to access it again at some point in the future, he says.
However, Donald Trump is not particularly worried that Iran could recover the uranium, which is buried at the nuclear power plant in Isfahan, among other things, without the US discovering it.
– We know exactly what is happening. No one has even come close to it,” he told Fox News.
