Why seizing Iran's nuclear stockpile would be "one of the riskiest" missions
Seizing the highly enriched uranium would be more difficult and complex than anything U.S. Special Operations forces have ever attempted, military experts told CBS News.
Updated on: March 27, 2026 / 3:54 PM EDT / CBS News
How hard would it be to remove or destroy Iran's nuclear stockpile? President Trump has said eliminating the country's nuclear weapons capability is a key objective of his military campaign against Iran, but U.S. military experts say it would be one of the riskiest missions ever attempted.
Last June, the United States significantly degraded Iran's nuclear infrastructure with massive "bunker buster" bombs designed to reach deeply buried material. But the International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran still maintains about 972 pounds of 60% enriched uranium, a short step away from the 90% enrichment levels needed for high-yield military warheads.
Without a diplomatic deal to remove or destroy the stockpile , a military operation involving boots on the ground deep in Iran is probably the only option. (An air campaign with massive bunker buster munitions that might entomb the stockpile deep underground may be under consideration, but there's no guarantee the enriched uranium would be eradicated.)
U.S. Special Forces commandos have been training for decades to seize or neutralize Tehran's uranium. They've practiced repeatedly at sites in the U.S. designed to replicate the tunnels that lead to the underground stockpile. These are the military's most elite forces, who have undergone intensive physical and technical training for this type of mission.