CNN: Trump Halted Planned U.S. Raid to Remove Iran's Enriched Uranium

CNN reported Saturday that President Donald Trump stopped at the last moment a U.S. military ground commando operation planned over recent weeks to seize Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium and remove it from Iranian territory. According to the report, Trump pulled the operation after being warned it could trigger a severe Iranian response, prolong the war, and further shake the global economy. He was also concerned about the possibility of significant American casualties.

The sources cited by CNN said U.S. military commanders rated such an operation as between high and extreme risk for special operations forces. Even if successful, they said, it could still have caused substantial U.S. military losses. The briefing was so urgent and sensitive that Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was reportedly rushed back on May 19 from a NATO meeting in Brussels to Tampa, Florida. The article said the formal and hurried nature of the discussions showed how close the administration came to approving the risky ground mission.

A senior U.S. official told American media that removing enriched uranium, even with Iranian cooperation, would be difficult, and said the issue had still not been discussed despite continuing talks between the sides. The sources also said Tehran is preparing an "economic nuclear option" if negotiations with Washington fail and the war resumes. That plan includes ordering the Houthis, Iran's main proxy in Yemen, to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key route into the Red Sea, in addition to the Strait of Hormuz closure already in place since the start of the war.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Thursday night that "a final version of the agreement between Iran and the United States has been reached." Israeli sources said Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, approved the deal. Sharif said opponents were spreading nonstop disinformation and added, "If we put the background noise aside, we can confirm that a final agreed text has been reached, and that Pakistan is now working closely with both sides to formulate the next steps. Peace has never been closer than it is now."

Earlier, a Western source told the Saudi outlet Al Hadath that a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran could be signed by Sunday. Geneva was said to be the expected venue, with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf likely to sign. A White House official also told Fox News that Iran had agreed to an "outcome-based agreement" requiring major concessions before any sanctions relief, including destruction and removal of its nuclear material, dismantling of its nuclear program, and no release of funds until it complies. The official added that the Strait of Hormuz would remain open and that Iran would agree to stop funding its terrorist proxies.