Trump Reveals He Rejected a Plan to Send US Troops Into Iran to Collect 'Nuclear Dust'

Let's set the scene: the U.S. is technically still at war with Iran — or at least in a tense ceasefire — and President Trump just casually revealed from the Oval Office that he turned down a plan to send American troops deep into Iran to grab enriched uranium. He calls it "nuclear dust." Yes, really.

Here's the quick backstory you need. Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government, and infrastructure sites. Following a two-week ceasefire, initial U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan in April failed to reach a peace deal. Trump later announced an open-ended extension of the ceasefire and the continuation of a U.S. blockade until negotiations are concluded "one way or the other."

So what's the new reveal? Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump — for the first time — detailed a risky plan he opted not to greenlight that would have sent U.S. troops into Iran to collect enriched uranium, or "nuclear dust" as he calls it. The president said he decided not to go forward with the plan given the dangers, and noted the operation would have taken at least two weeks, with "massive equipment" that would need to be airlifted in.

Instead of green-lighting that mission, Trump decided the material is safely out of play — for now. He added that the U.S. could still carry out such an operation, but said there's "no reason to" because the nuclear material is "entombed." His words: "We could get it right now. I don't think they could stop us if we wanted, but there's no reason to. It's entombed."

And in a telling aside, Trump said "I didn't feel like being like Jimmy Carter" — alluding to the former president's failed effort to rescue 52 U.S. Embassy staff held hostage by Iran in 1980. In other words: he didn't want a high-risk special forces mission blowing up in his face.

There's a bigger picture here. Previously, Trump had insisted on the need to remove or destroy Iran's stockpile of some 440 kilograms of 60-percent enriched uranium — a short step from weapons-grade. But his position appears to be shifting. Trump's apparently changing stance on the uranium stockpile follows his recent backing away from his previous demand for an end to all Iranian enrichment, saying on May 15 that he would accept a 20-year suspension of uranium enrichment.

Meanwhile, the international nuclear watchdog isn't exactly reassured. On Iran's 60% enriched uranium, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said there are several technically feasible options — exporting it, diluting it, or keeping it under IAEA control — but these are ultimately political decisions. He stressed that no arrangement can proceed without first re-establishing a verified baseline of material on the ground, and while the current assumption is that the uranium remains in place, the IAEA has not independently confirmed its status after recent attacks.

On the diplomatic front, the talks are moving — slowly. Secretary of State Rubio told senators that the ongoing talks with Tehran are being complicated because the Iranian government is "fractured," estimating it takes between seven and ten Iranian negotiators to pass proposals, and that it often takes "three to five days to get a response" from Iranian leadership.

Back home, Congress is pushing back. The House adopted a resolution to rein in Trump's Iran war powers for the first time since the start of the conflict, by a vote of 215-208, with four GOP representatives joining all Democrats. Though it's a rebuke of the president's handling of the war, the resolution is symbolic in nature.

And the conflict isn't fully on pause. The U.S. military recently shot down four Iranian drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM said the drones "posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic" and that U.S. forces struck Iranian coastal surveillance radar sites in response.

Why does this matter to you personally? The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most critical oil shipping lanes — roughly 20% of global oil passes through it. The U.S. blockade there is already affecting global energy markets. The longer this drags on without a deal, the more you'll feel it at the pump and in energy costs broadly. And if negotiations collapse and full-scale fighting resumes, the economic ripple effects would be significant.