Berk Kutay Gokmen
12 June 2026•Update: 12 June 2026
US President Donald Trump has paused a plan by the military to forcibly seize Iran’s enriched uranium, CNN reported Friday, citing sources.
The US military’s top officer made a secret, hurried trip to US Central Command headquarters in Florida late last month to receive an in-person briefing on plans for a potential ground operation in Iran aimed at seizing the country’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, according to the report.
The briefings were considered so urgent and sensitive that Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, cut short a meeting of senior NATO officials in Brussels and flew back to Tampa on May 19, the report said.
The high-level discussions highlight how close the administration came to approving the risky operation. Caine later presented the military options to Trump, the report said.
Trump ultimately paused the plan after being warned it could trigger severe Iranian retaliation, prolong the conflict, and further destabilize the global economy. He was also concerned about the possibility of significant US casualties, according to the report.
Planning for the operation occurred even as Trump repeatedly said the US and Iran were nearing an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and conclude negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, according to the report.
