The New York Times revealed on Wednesday, citing two informed sources, that the US military has presented President Donald Trump with an exceptionally complex military plan aimed at seizing nearly 1,000 pounds of highly enriched uranium from inside Iranian territory.
The plan, described as one of the most dangerous concepts ever proposed for a special operations mission, involves deploying heavy drilling equipment and constructing an airstrip inside Iran in order to remove the radioactive material from the country.
The Details of the “Impossible Mission”
The plan, which was presented to President Trump last week, came in response to a direct request from him to explore options for neutralising what he has described as nuclear fallout risk. As outlined by experts, the operation would involve several major stages.
Large-Scale Air Deployment
The first stage would require a wide airborne deployment involving hundreds or even thousands of elite troops, such as the 82nd Airborne Division and Ranger units, to secure the perimeter around the targeted facilities.
Field Engineering Under Fire
Engineering teams would then be tasked with building a complete airstrip for cargo aircraft while operating under enemy fire. This would allow the United States to bring in drilling equipment and transport barrels of uranium out of Iran.
Penetrating Deep Fortifications
Teams from Delta Force or the Navy SEALs would be expected to use cutting torches and industrial saws to breach reinforced concrete and lead-lined fortifications buried as deep as 300 feet underground.
Although limiting Iran’s ability to build a nuclear weapon remains a central objective of the Trump administration, experts say this plan would amount to an extraordinarily difficult wartime operation of a type never previously attempted.
The mission would require an air bridge to move hundreds or thousands of personnel and heavy equipment to support excavation and recovery operations. Former defence officials estimate that such an effort could take weeks and would have to be carried out under fire deep inside Iranian territory.
Target Site and Uranium Storage
Attention is focused mainly on a facility outside the historic city of Isfahan, where International Atomic Energy Agency reports indicate that a stockpile weighing around 970 pounds of uranium enriched to 60 percent is being held. That level is considered dangerously close to weapons-grade.
Satellite imagery suggests that the stockpile, stored in cylinders resembling diving tanks, was moved into deep tunnels shortly before the US and Israeli airstrikes carried out in June. That means reaching it would require a drilling and excavation operation rather than a rapid strike.
Why Officials View the Plan as Exceptionally Dangerous
Experts and former defence officials, including former deputy assistant secretary of defence Mick Mulroy, described the proposal as the largest and most complex special operation in history. They warned of several severe risks.
Timeframe
Unlike the Bin Laden raid, which lasted only hours, this operation could require weeks or even months of temporary occupation of the site.
Radiological Contamination
Any direct strike or mistake during the extraction of uranium hexafluoride gas could lead to catastrophic contamination.
Human Losses
Retired General Joseph Votel warned that fighting in such an environment would inevitably result in American casualties.
Washington Keeps the Option on the Table
While the US administration continues to publicly frame its goal as preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the presentation of the plan does not necessarily mean a decision has been made to carry it out. She said it is part of ensuring that the commander-in-chief is given the widest possible range of options.
According to a former defence official with direct knowledge of war planning for Iran and special operations capabilities, the scale and complexity of the operation would make it extremely difficult, but not impossible.
That former official said that, apart from a quick and largely symbolic strike designed to demonstrate that the United States could do more, recovering much or all of the material would require a temporary occupation.
Trump Weighs Escalation Despite Campaign Promises
These developments come at a time when Tehran continues rejecting American proposals to surrender its uranium stockpile. At the same time, voices in conservative media, including Mark Levin, are pressing for the deployment of specialised forces to seize the nuclear material before it is too late.
The article suggests that President Trump is studying the option seriously, despite his previous election promises to end wars rather than open new ones.
