President Donald Trump declared on Thursday that the United States would ultimately reclaim Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, even though Iran has stated it will not hand it over.

"We're going to get it. We don't need it, and we don't want it. We'll take it and probably destroy it, but we're not going to let them keep it," Trump told reporters at the White House.

When asked if Iran could continue to possess highly enriched uranium, he firmly replied, "No," reiterating his determination to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Iran is estimated to possess approximately 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium, which President Trump claims was buried in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike during the 'Midnight Hammer' operation about a year ago.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and experts view Iran's 60% enriched uranium as a sufficient quantity to produce up to 10 nuclear weapons if further enriched to over 90%.

Recovering this uranium is one of the key objectives of President Trump's military operations against Iran, aimed at preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.

Citing two senior Iranian officials, Reuters reported that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has strongly instructed that uranium close to weapons-grade should never be transferred abroad.

The Iranian leadership believes that transferring enriched uranium abroad would eliminate deterrence in the event of future military attacks by the U.S. and Israel, leaving the regime more vulnerable.

To avoid transferring the stockpile to the United States, Iran had previously considered transferring the enriched uranium to Russia as an alternative. However, President Trump has made it clear that the U.S. will either take it directly or dispose of it on-site.

"They're somewhat crazy. We're going to get it one way or another, and they're not going to have a nuclear weapon," Trump reiterated.

President Trump stated that if Iran were to possess nuclear weapons, "There will be a nuclear war in the Middle East, and that war will go to Europe. We cannot let that happen. That will not happen."

He added, "There is nothing more important than making sure Iran does not have a nuclear weapon."

NNP=Hong Seong-gu, Chief Reporter / Special Dispatch by this newspaper NNP info@newsandpost.com