US military officials have presented a high-stakes plan to US President Donald Trump involving the extraction of approximately 450 kilograms of highly enriched uranium from the ruins of Iranian nuclear facilities.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports, citing sources from The Washington Post, that the proposed operation would require a massive deployment of resources. According to the report, the execution of this mission would necessitate the deployment of hundreds, or potentially thousands, of military personnel along with heavy machinery, including excavators, to unearth and remove the radioactive materials.
Retired General Joseph Votel, the former head of US Central Command and Special Operations Command, described the mission as "extremely complex" and warned of the high risk of casualties. Sources indicate that accessing the storage site in Isfahan would require several critical steps, including:
- Breaching protective layers of concrete and lead;
- Extracting containers holding the nuclear material to the surface.
Experts emphasize that such a task has never been executed under combat conditions. The proposed scenario suggests that US forces would first need to neutralize Iran's air defense systems to ensure the safe movement of ground troops. Subsequently, engineers would have to construct an airstrip to facilitate the delivery of equipment, during which transport aircraft would remain vulnerable within the enemy's target zone.
A former Pentagon official noted that seizing the uranium would require a temporary occupation of the territory. While a symbolic raid for a show of force is possible, a full-scale operation would be immense in scope. The uranium in question remains under rubble following strikes conducted by Israel and the US on Iranian nuclear sites last summer. While US President Donald Trump has identified preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons as a primary goal for Washington, a final decision on the plan has not yet been reached.
The tension surrounding Iran's nuclear program has been a focal point of global security for decades. International observers note that any direct ground intervention to secure nuclear materials would mark a significant escalation in regional dynamics. Historically, the US has utilized a combination of economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions, making this potential military extraction plan a departure from traditional containment strategies.
