President Donald Trump gives a news conference alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth inside the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, April 6, 2026. Evan Vucci/Reuters
While numerous specifics of the two-week U.S. truce arrangement with Iran remain unclear, President Donald Trump on Wednesday hinted that the two nations might collaborate to "unearth" Tehran's enriched uranium currently concealed far below the surface.
Preventing Iran from possessing or creating the means to construct a nuclear weapon has been among Trump's declared goals during the conflict.
"There shall be no Uranium enrichment, and the United States, working in conjunction with Iran, will excavate and eliminate all of the deeply buried (B-2 Bombers) Nuclear 'Dust,'" he stated on Wednesday morning through a social media announcement, alluding to the substance covered in debris stemming from last June's attacks on the Fordo and other nuclear sites amidst Operation Midnight Hammer.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth observes President Donald Trump as he conducts a news conference within the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, April 6, 2026.Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
"It currently is, and has been, under exceptionally precise Satellite Observation (Space Force!)" Trump appended. "Since the date of the assault, nothing has been disturbed."
He previously had not precluded the deployment of U.S. ground forces to seize the material — which military experts argue would be hazardous, necessitating a substantial American special operations detachment.
Iranian authorities have remained silent publicly regarding any agreement with the U.S. to collaborate on the removal of nuclear material.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a news briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, April 8, 2026.Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
During a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth expanded upon Trump's message.
"Under the conditions, any nuclear material … they shouldn't possess will be extracted," he conveyed to journalists.
"Presently, the dust is deeply submerged and under continuous around-the-clock aerial surveillance," he further noted.
"We are fully aware of their holdings, and they recognize that, and they will either relinquish it to us, as the president has outlined, they'll surrender it willingly. We will procure it; we will retrieve it; we will eliminate it," Hegseth remarked. "Alternatively, should we be compelled to undertake separate measures, such as those executed during Midnight Hammer or similar operations, we retain that prerogative."
Sourse: abcnews.go.com