Trump Says Recovering Iranian Uranium Will Be “Long and Difficult”

(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump stated on Monday that efforts to retrieve uranium linked to Iran’s nuclear program would be a “long” and “difficult” undertaking following last year’s US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

In comments posted on his Truth Social account, Trump referred to what he called “Operation Midnight Hammer,” describing it as having caused “a complete and total obliteration of the Nuclear Dust sites in Iran.” He added that, as a result, “digging it out will be a long and difficult process.”

The US president frequently uses the phrase “nuclear dust” when discussing Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, which Washington has long accused Tehran of accumulating with the potential aim of developing nuclear weapons. At other times, he has also used the term to describe remnants left after US military strikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure carried out in June of the previous year.

Trump also reiterated his view that Iran’s enriched uranium reserves would eventually be transferred to US control, despite Iranian officials rejecting any such arrangement.

Iran’s foreign ministry has denied claims that such transfers are being considered.

The comments come in the broader context of escalating tensions over Iran’s nuclear program. The United States and Israel conducted joint military strikes on Iran on February 28, targeting facilities that Israel described as a serious security threat linked to potential nuclear weapons development.

Israeli officials have also claimed that Iran has intensified its nuclear-related activities following a brief conflict last year, which included coordinated strikes on multiple Iranian nuclear sites, among them enrichment facilities.

The situation continues to fuel regional and international concerns over the future of Iran’s nuclear program and the prospects for renewed diplomatic resolution.

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