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The Washington Post reported on the 1st that the US military has submitted a plan to President Trump to seize nearly 1,000 pounds (about 453.6 kilograms) of highly enriched uranium inside Iran.
The report says that, according to two people familiar with the matter, the plan was submitted to Trump last week at his request and includes an assessment of the associated risks. Iran’s highly enriched uranium is mainly stored at nuclear facilities in Isfahan and other locations, some of which were struck by US airstrikes last June. Currently, the access tunnels to the nuclear storage areas remain buried under rubble.
The report, citing sources, points out that to reach the nuclear storage vault in Isfahan, “excavation equipment must first be transported to the site to break through concrete and lead shielding” and other protective structures. “Then, it’s necessary to descend to the bottom of the shaft, remove the containers holding the nuclear material, and airlift them away.”
Experts have analyzed that carrying out this plan would be extremely difficult; it may necessitate first striking Iranian defensive facilities and equipment to create a safer corridor for ground forces, then airdropping hundreds or even thousands of soldiers and heavy excavation equipment on-site, and building a runway to allow cargo planes to airlift out the radioactive materials.
It is estimated that this whole process could take weeks or even months and would have to be conducted deep inside Iran, under the threat of hostile fire. Additionally, personnel involved would also face the risk of radioactive material leakage.
According to a report by The New York Times on March 29, hundreds of US Special Operations Forces soldiers have already arrived in the Middle East. US officials have said these Special Forces troops will act jointly with the Marine Corps and paratroopers, possibly taking part in operations targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, as well as actions to secure control of the Strait of Hormuz or to seize Iran’s key oil export hub Khark Island.