President Donald Trump said on Monday that he was "nowhere near" deciding whether to send U.S. troops into Iran to secure the stockpile of highly enriched uranium there.
"We haven’t made any decision on that. We’re nowhere near it,” Trump told the New York Post when asked about reported discussions between Israel and the United States on possibly deploying special forces to Iran to seize and secure the material.
A longstanding dispute over Iran's nuclear program escalated into military conflict ten days ago, with the U.S. and Israel launching strikes against Iran and Iran responding with attacks across the Middle East.
Without providing evidence, Trump said last month that Tehran was beginning to rebuild the nuclear program that he claimed had been “obliterated” by U.S. strikes in June last year.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear arsenal, saying its enrichment of uranium – a process that produces fuel for power plants and nuclear warheads depending on its duration – is strictly for civilian use.
Trump touts $5,000 payout if Republicans win as Vance waits in wings
Search expands after Philippine ferry fire kills five and leaves dozens missing
Trump says Iran war to end after US midterm elections
At least 20 killed in cargo vessel fire at China shipyard, state media reports
US military says it struck vessel in Caribbean, killing 3
At least 14 killed in explosion at weapons depot in Syria
US hits five Iranian oil tankers after attack on Navy ships
UK gives air traffic provider a week to probe outage that halted flights
