Iran's nuclear facility in Isfahan [AFP=Yonhap News]

The United States and Israel are reportedly considering deploying special forces into Iran to secure highly enriched uranium.

This is intended to completely block Iran's potential for nuclear weapons development, and if executed, it is expected to be a high-risk operation involving sending troops into Iranian territory during a war.

The US online media Axios reported on the 7th (local time), citing multiple sources familiar with the matter, that the US and Israel have been discussing special operations to secure Iran's highly enriched uranium in the latter stages of a war.

The core objective is to secure 450 kg of 60% enriched uranium possessed by Iran.

The 60% enriched uranium, evaluated as near weapons-grade, can be further enriched to weapons-grade 90% within weeks, which is enough to build 11 nuclear bombs.

Most of Iran's highly enriched uranium is believed to remain in underground tunnels at the Isfahan nuclear facility, which was destroyed by the US and Israel last year, with some dispersed in the Fordow and Natanz nuclear facilities.

US officials stated that both plans to completely remove the uranium from Iran and dilute its concentration on-site are being discussed, and scientists from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) may participate in the operation.

However, Axios reported that the actual operation is likely to be executed only when the Iranian military's response capabilities are judged to be significantly weakened.

It is not yet specified whether US or Israeli forces will carry out the operation, or if it will be a joint mission. Within the US, there are also reports of an assessment that there are significant technical and military challenges in the process of securing the uranium.

When asked by reporters on Air Force One if the military might be deployed to secure nuclear material, President Donald Trump said, "At some point, we might. We are not looking at that right now. We are not going to do it right now. We might at some point later," not ruling out the possibility of execution.

Meanwhile, US intelligence agencies have assessed that Iran may also have the possibility of accessing underground areas of the Isfahan nuclear facility to recover highly enriched uranium.

According to the US daily New York Times (NYT), US intelligence agencies are continuously monitoring the facility via satellite and believe that Iran can access the uranium through narrow access routes.