In a bold move, former President Donald Trump tasked his senior military leaders with devising an audacious plan to seize nuclear materials from Iran. This undertaking, if executed, could be one of the most perilous missions in recent history.
The strategy hinges on the expertise of U.S. special forces, notably the Navy SEALs and Army Rangers, who are already strategically positioned in the Middle East. The plan involves deploying hundreds, if not thousands, of troops on Iranian soil to secure the nuclear materials.
According to several officials, the Pentagon’s blueprint for the President requires operators to retrieve almost 1,000 pounds of highly enriched uranium. Should the mission proceed, it is expected to unfold over several weeks, far exceeding initial estimates.
Trump had initially dubbed this mission “Operation Epic Fury,” asserting it would conclude within six weeks. However, the operation has already surpassed four weeks, with no definitive end in sight.
In an address to the nation on Wednesday night, Trump expressed confidence that the conflict with Iran would soon draw to a close. He vowed that the U.S. would deliver a powerful blow to Iran over the ensuing weeks if necessary.
The operation’s complexity extends beyond troop deployment. It also requires the transportation of heavy excavation equipment to the region, the construction of a runway for cargo aircraft, and the extraction of radioactive material from beneath the debris left by U.S. and Israeli airstrikes.
Insiders would expect the operation to excavate the uranium, which Trump has called ‘nuclear dust,’ to take weeks, and that while doing so, US forces would be exposed to attacks from Iranian forces.
Trump was briefed on the dangerous plan within the last week after he requested a proposal from the military.
President Donald Trump requested that the military present him with a plan to obtain Iran’s nearly 1,000 pounds of enriched uranium
Insiders familiar with the planning have said the daring operation could take weeks, require heavy excavation equipment, and would open up US forces to hostile fire deep within Iran
Complicating the matters is the highly radioactive material and its impacts on soldiers potentially tasked with digging it up and shipping it out of the country. Soldiers would likely need to wear MOPP protective gear, shown above, while conducting the risky potential operation
‘This would be one of, if not the largest, most complicated special operations in history,’ Mick Mulroy, a retired CIA and Marine officer, told the Washington Post. ‘It’s a major risk to the force.’
The plan underscores the administration’s adamance to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon – even if the enriched components are buried deep underground and US special forces may come under fire.
‘It’s the job of the Pentagon to make preparations in order to give the Commander in Chief maximum optionality,’ White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said of the plan. ‘It does not mean the President has made a decision.’
After the US bombed Iran’s nuclear sites at Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow in June 2025, many of the Islamic Republic’s enrichment capabilities were buried under tons of concrete.
In order to access the nuclear material at Isfahan, ‘you have to get excavation equipment, break through the concrete and the lead shield … and then you somehow have to get to the bottom of this silo and remove the containers full of nuclear material and fly them out,’ sources familiar with the plan told the Post.
Several officials noted the plan is feasible, and special forces are trained for these types of missions, though it would be exceptionally dangerous and would expose the operators to Iranian attacks.
The plan would likely kick off with targeted strikes on Iranian defenses to create a safe path for soldiers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne and Rangers to parachute into the nuclear sites to set up a secure perimeter.
Then, engineers would need to quickly craft an airstrip to ensure that excavation equipment and more could be brought in for soldiers to begin digging out the nuclear material.
The logistics behind the mission would be daunting and require scores of soldiers, pilots, mechanics, drivers, refuelers, resuppliers and even potentially civilian nuclear experts to help mentor the troops as they handle the dangerous material.
Any potential operation would likely require troops to parachute into Iran behind enemy lines and close to their nuclear sites
Then soldiers would need to clear the sites and set up a secure perimeter before building an airstrip to bring in supplies and bring out the nuclear material
US forces would need to begin blasting through concrete and sawing through metal to dig up the material, which is thought to be buried under rubble after US strikes
Food, water and gasoline would all need to be sent in at a steady pace to keep operations going around the clock.
The operation would be akin to setting up a forward operating base deep within enemy territory while US forces dig up and then fly out any discovered uranium.
But blasting through reinforced concrete rubble to gain access to the radioactive ‘dust’ would be grueling work and full of treacherous pitfalls.
Commandos may be forced to do all this work while wearing restrictive protective equipment and air filtration systems.
In addition, determining exactly where the nuclear material is has been difficult, and US forces tasked with its discovery could face challenges without obtaining detailed layouts of the facilities.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has roughly 970 pounds of uranium enriched to 60 percent.
Satellite image reveals multiple buildings damaged or destroyed at the Isfahan nuclear technology center after the airstrikes. Charring and roof collapses are visible across the compound
Weapons-grade uranium is enriched to 90 percent, and the process of going from 60 to 90 would take a matter of days.
Trump has repeatedly stated that Iran was either weeks or days away from having nuclear weapons.
‘We haven’t seen big movements,’ showing Iran is trying to unearth the material, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has said. He noted there may have been trucks or cars visiting the bombed sites, but ‘not bulldozers digging things out.’
