US Secret Operation Exposed, Iran's Nuclear Stockpile Targeted

The Pentagon is reportedly reviewing plans for a massive military operation to seize Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium. A report by the New York Post (NYP) states the operation could be one of the most complex military missions in history if executed. Citing sources familiar with the discussions, NYP reported that thousands of United States (US) ground troops would be deployed to storm Iran’s heavily guarded nuclear facilities. Elite commando teams would then be tasked with securing and evacuating the enriched uranium from the sites. “This operation has the potential to be the most sophisticated operation in military history,” Joseph Rodgers, Deputy Director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told NYP. According to the report, the exact location of Iran’s uranium stockpile has not been fully confirmed. Iran has four main nuclear facilities at Fordo, Natanz, Isfahan, and Pickaxe Mountain. The first three facilities were targeted by US and Israeli strikes last year. Of the approximately 440 kilogrammes of enriched uranium, around 200 kilogrammes are believed to be in underground tunnels near Isfahan, while the remainder is thought to be scattered at other locations, including Natanz. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi previously stated in March that the highly enriched uranium stockpile remains buried under the rubble of facilities hit by US and Israeli attacks. He also asserted that Tehran “has no plans” to retrieve or reduce the enrichment level of the uranium. Meanwhile, the Pickaxe Mountain complex, built deep inside granite rock, reportedly escaped last year’s strikes because it was still under construction. However, the US and Israel suspect Iran has since reinforced the facility and possibly moved centrifuges and some uranium to deeper locations, although the facility is believed not to be fully operational. NYP stated that regular US troops would be tasked with securing the area and establishing a security perimeter. Afterwards, elite units such as the Silver Squadron from SEAL Team 6, the US Army’s 2nd Ranger Battalion, and the 21st Ordnance Company would handle the extraction and transport of nuclear material from Fordo and Isfahan. The operation would also require engineering personnel to clear booby traps, reopen access to collapsed tunnels, and fighter jet support to control the air corridor so the uranium can be safely flown out of Iran. Rodgers assessed that the military option is increasingly being considered because the diplomatic path is seen as moving too slowly. “This would be a very heavy lift logistically and difficult to do in a contested environment. Iran’s military has been badly degraded, but it is still more sophisticated than the forces guarding Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro,” he said. The New York Times previously reported that most of Iran’s uranium is believed to be buried so deep that even the US’s most powerful bunker-buster bombs likely could not destroy it. The report also warned that an operation to retrieve the uranium would carry significant risk because the nuclear material could become highly toxic if exposed to moisture.