Trump could send in troops to claim Iran's buried stash of uranium

A satellite view of Natanz Nuclear Facility near Natanz,Isfahan province,in central Iran (Picture: AFP)

Donald Trump has said he could send in troops to reclaim Iran’s hidden uranium stores buried in sand during the 12-day Iran-US war.

After striking alleged nuclear facilities in Iran last year,the US essentially ‘entombed’ a large supply of the nuclear material at a site in Isfahan,the NYT reported.

Though access to the material remains difficult,there are fears that Iran could access the nuclear weapon building block through a ‘narrow point’.

Last night,when asked if he would send in ground forces to retrieve the uranium,Trump said: ‘Right now we’re just decimating them,but we haven’t gone after it. But something we could do later on. We wouldn’t do it now.’

Last year,the US didn’t retrieve the element because it was thought to be too much of a risk.

The US and Israel have battered Iran,targeting its military capabilities,leadership and nuclear programme.

A satellite image shows unburied tunnel entrances at the Isfahan nuclear complex

(Picture via REUTERS)

The US estimates that Iran has around 970 pounds of enriched uranium,most of which is at the nuclear site in Isfahan.

Both US intelligence and the UN’s nuclear watchdog,the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),have said that Iran closed down its nuclear weapons development programme in 2003.

But according to the IAEA, Tehran has in recent years continued enriching uranium,including to near weapons-grade.

All three of the plants where that was happening were hit in the last US strikes on Iran last June.

Iran has not allowed the UN to inspect either of the damaged facilities at Fordow,Natanz and Esfahan since last summer’s ’12-day war’.

Iran now enriches uranium to near weapons-grade levels of 60%,the only country in the world without a nuclear weapons programme to do so.

Under a 2015 nuclear deal,Iran was allowed to enrich uranium up to 3.67% purity and to maintain a uranium stockpile of 300kg.

The inside of a uranium conversion facility producing unit is seen March 30,2005 just outside the city of Isfahan (Picture: Getty)

Uranium contains a radioactive isotope called U-235, which can be used as a power source. The more refined it is – in other words,enriched – the more powerful. Power is increased by spinning U-235 in a container known as a centrifuge.

Nuclear power plants only need relatively unenriched uranium at 0.7% to 5%,while weapons-grade nuclear weapons require 90%.

The IAEA says Iran has about 400kg worth of uranium enriched to 60%. At 90% enrichment,this is enough for 10 warheads.

Iran Watch warns that the country could enrich enough uranium for one weapon in four months,and five weapons in one year and eight months.

However,it’s worth noting that Iran would also need to build a warhead and a missile capable of delivering it.

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