Trump faces his most difficult Iran war decision: Will he deploy U.S. troops to seize uranium?

By — Aamer Madhani, Associated Press Aamer Madhani, Associated Press By — Seung Min Kim, Associated Press Seung Min Kim, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Trump faces his most difficult Iran war decision: Will he deploy U.S. troops to seize uranium? Politics Mar 19, 2026 5:21 PM EDT WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is facing perhaps the most daunting question of the war with Iran, one that could define his time in office: Will he put U.S. troops on the ground in Iran to secure some 970 pounds of enriched uranium that Tehran could potentially use to build nuclear weapons? Trump has offered shifting reasons for launching the war, but he has been consistent in articulating that a primary objective in joining Israel in the military action is ensuring that Iran will "never have a nuclear weapon." READ MORE: Why experts say the Iran war underscores risks of Trump's all-in focus on oil The president has been more circumspect about how far he's willing to go to follow through on his pledge to destroy Iran's weapons program once and for all, including seizing or destroying the near-bomb-grade nuclear material that Iran possesses. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Enter your email address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. Much of it is believed to be buried under the rubble of a mountain facility pummeled in U.S. bombings Trump ordered last June that he had claimed "obliterated" Tehran's nuclear program. It's a risky, complicated project that many nuclear experts say cannot be done without a sizable deployment of U.S. troops into Iran, a dangerous and politically fraught operation for the Republican president, who has vowed not to entangle the U.S. in the sort of extended and bloody Middle East conflicts that still loom large on America's p...