Journalists at Semafor report that the administration of US President Donald Trump has been discussing options for using force to seize facilities tied to Iran’s nuclear program. According to their sources, these scenarios are being worked through by the American military, including the US Central Command (CENTCOM), and have also been the subject of consultations with Israeli partners.

Among the potential courses of action, Semafor writes, is the temporary establishment of control over selected sites linked to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Another option under consideration is a special forces operation aimed at seizing or destroying key elements of that infrastructure.

In comments to Semafor, military expert Jonathan Hackett said that US special operations units routinely train for missions involving the capture or destruction of fissile materials, centrifuges and other equipment that could be used to produce weapons of mass destruction.

Earlier, Axios reported that Washington and Tel-Aviv had explored plans to deploy their forces onto Iranian territory to secure stocks of highly enriched uranium. According to that account, at least two scenarios were on the table: transporting the radioactive material out of the country, or «diluting» it on site with the involvement of nuclear weapons specialists.