U.S. military making plans to secure Iran’s nuclear materials, sources say

Washington — Amid volatile diplomacy and tit-for-tat strikes between the United States and Iran, American military planners have discussed contingencies that would involve U.S. forces helping secure Iran’s nuclear materials if a deal is reached, according to U.S. officials familiar with knowledge of the ongoing planning. 

The discussions, which remain preliminary and are contingent on a range of battlefield and political developments, center on how the Pentagon could support the Department of Energy in seizing Tehran’s highly enriched uranium, the officials told CBS News, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss national security issues. 

Under one scenario reviewed by defense officials, U.S. troops would be deployed to several countries across the Middle East to support a rapid response operation. Specialized teams from the Department of Energy, working alongside American military personnel and other U.S. government agencies, could then enter Iran to locate, secure and remove stockpiles of enriched uranium, the officials said. 

Before an American F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down back in April, triggering a major combat search and rescue effort, Pentagon officials had examined a similar concept involving the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Emergency Support Team, known as NEST, according to the officials. The proposal also envisioned participation from U.S. Special Operations forces and the Army’s 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives Command, which specializes in countering weapons of mass destruction and hazardous materials. 

The officials told CBS News that the discussions do not represent a decision to conduct an operation. Rather, they are part of routine military contingency planning. 

A senior administration official told reporters on a call Friday that under the terms of a deal, which could be signed in the coming days, Iran’s enriched uranium would be “destroyed on site and then taken out of the country.”

There will be a “technical process to figure that out,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Technical negotiations are slated to last 60 days, after a memorandum of understanding is signed, the official said.