Trump Halts Secret Plan to Seize Iran's Nuclear Stockpile
The US military's highest-ranking officer made an emergency, classified trip to US Central Command headquarters in Florida late last month to receive an in-person briefing on the prospective ground operation, according to the report.
The briefings were deemed so urgent and sensitive that Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, abruptly cut short a senior NATO officials' meeting in Brussels and flew back to Tampa on May 19, media reported.
Caine subsequently presented the full range of military options directly to Trump, the report said — underscoring how close the administration came to greenlighting the high-risk mission.
Trump ultimately paused the plan after being warned it could trigger severe Iranian retaliation, prolong the conflict, and further destabilize the global economy. He was also concerned about the possibility of significant US casualties, according to the report.
The revelation is particularly striking given that planning for the operation unfolded simultaneously as Trump repeatedly signaled publicly that Washington and Tehran were approaching a landmark agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resolve outstanding disputes over Iran's nuclear program.
The parallel tracks — secret military contingency planning alongside active diplomacy — illustrate the administration's dual-track approach to one of its most consequential foreign policy challenges.
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