President Trump is reportedly contemplating a military mission to deploy U.S. troops into Iran with the objective of extracting approximately 1,000 pounds of uranium, according to officials.
The President is considering the potential deployment, which could last several days or more, while also assessing the risks involved for American personnel, sources familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
In deliberating the potential dangers, Trump has urged his advisors to exert pressure on Iran, proposing that relinquishing its nuclear material could be a condition for negotiating an end to the ongoing conflict, the publication reported.
There is a belief among Trump and some of his administration that ground forces could successfully secure Iran’s enriched uranium reserves without prolonging the conflict. Officials hope the mission could be executed by mid-April, as per the Wall Street Journal.
The uranium stockpiles in question are reportedly stored in Iran’s underground facilities located in Isfahan and Natanz, as stated by Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Isfahan, situated about 270 miles south of Tehran, is thought to hold the bulk of Iran’s 60% enriched uranium, while Natanz is believed to contain additional uranium reserves within its heavily fortified Pickaxe Mountain facility.
Little is known about that nuclear facility, with Israeli outlets reporting that it could be about 330 feet below the mountain base, more than 30 feet deeper into the ground than Iran’s Fordow fuel enrichment plant.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed the uranium remains buried under rubble following US-Israel joint strikes last June.
Both sites are deep inside Iran, which would mean US forces would need to dodge the country’s remaining drones and missiles to reach the complexes.
Soldiers would also likely face mines and booby traps while trying to get engineers with excavating equipment to reach the nuclear material.
Retired Gen. Joseph Votel, the former commander of US Central Command and US Special Operations Command, warned that such an operation would take days or even a week to complete.
“This is not a quick in and out kind of deal,” he told the WSJ.
As the president mulls the risks of the operation, the Pentagon has continued to bolster America’s military presence in the Middle East, with the Defense Department considering the deployment of 10,000 additional ground troops.
More than 3,500 sailors and Marines arrived in the region over the weekend aboard the USS Tripoli.
