(Kyle Anzalone, Antiwar.com) President Donald Trump ordered the Department of War to prepare for a potential ground operation to seize Iran’s stockpile of 60% enriched uranium.
According to two sources speaking with The Washington Post, the Pentagon developed a plan to land troops in Iran, build a runway, and leave the country with Tehran’s 1000 pounds of highly enriched uranium. The President requested the Department of War draft the battle plans, and he was briefed on them in the past week.
In recent weeks, Trump has ordered additional troops to the Middle East that could be used to conduct ground operations in Iran. Axios reported last week that the Pentagon developed several options for Trump to choose from that are intended to deliver a “final blow” to Iran.
The operations include seizing Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, or attempting to capture Iran’s 60% enriched uranium.
Seizing the nuclear material will be a difficult operation. The exact location of the uranium is unclear. It is believed that it moved to the Isfahan nuclear facility after the US and Israel attacked Iran in June. It calls for deploying hundreds of thousands of troops to Iran, which could be on the ground for weeks under fire.
The uranium is believed to be under caved-in tunnels, meaning US forces would have to clear debris under fire to reach the target. The soldiers would then need to construct a runway to fly the nuclear material out of Iran.
Before the US and Israel’s attack on Iran that started the war, Tehran offered to dilute its stockpile of enriched uranium to a level where it could be used as nuclear fuel. Trump rejected the Iranian officer and started an aggressive war.
This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.
