Deploy teams of elite special forces into foreign and hostile territory while evading enemy surface-to-air missiles and drones, with the goal of entering secret underground facilities to locate, secure and extract close to . It could be the synopsis of the next title or it could even be a new installment of Top Gun. But no, in reality this is one of the possibilities that are on the central table in the Oval Office, in terms of new US movements in the war against Iran.
According to an exclusive this is the option that US President Donald Trump is currently debating. Washington, which is also debating a possible one in the Strait of , such as that of Karg Island; wants to get hold of Iranian enriched uranium. However, this uranium had already been the subject of negotiation in the talks on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile program – even Russia offered to remove it and guard it to avoid attacks from the US and Israel.
However, if this possibility, portrayed in the New York newspaper’s exclusive, materializes, the conflict would be conditioned again. The Trump Administration, cornered by the effects of the economic impact of a rise above $120, promised that the war would not extend beyond four or six weeks. Launching this military land operation would inevitably mean increasing that deadline, with the uncertainty of whether it will not be a factor in setting the deadlines for the war and considering the Iranian authorities defeated.
But was there still “nuclear dust” in Iran?
According to the information of The Wall Street JournalTrump is assessing the potential danger that launching an operation of this magnitude in Iranian territory would have for US troops. Yesterday, Sunday, without making any reference to this hypothetical military operation that is being considered, Trump slipped to journalists that “they are going to give us nuclear dust,” in reference to uranium. If not, “they will have no country.” But what does Trump mean when he talks about “nuclear dust”?
According to the latest data from the Iranian authorities—when the first Trump Administration, the ayatollahs stopped allowing inspections—the deposits would consist of a total of 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium at 60% and nearly 200 kilograms of fissile material at 20%. . This would be all Washington would want to take away from Iran. But another question emerges, about what happened less than a year ago.
If in April of last year, the US and Israel took advantage of a Operation Midnight Hammer So, how much of that enriched uranium is left or where is it found? The response again points to the bombed underground facilities: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. In the last month of war they have already been subjected to more bombings, but all eyes are once again pointing to the sites where there were centrifuges, mainly an underground tunnel in the Isfahan nuclear complex and a warehouse in Natanz.
Elite troops with engineers, heavy machinery and an improvised airfield: an operation worthy of a Hollywood script
Regardless of the success or not of an operation in which it was decided to drop bunker-busting bombs on nuclear enclaves, using the B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, the mission that is now being considered not only means taking another step in the escalation. It represents a high risk for the troops and personnel sent to the field, according to what various former US military officers and experts have reported to the aforementioned newspaper.
First, troops would have to be moved into a situation where Iranian fire using surface-to-air missiles is not ruled out. Neither are drones, a versatile weapon of the Iranian authorities who have shown that they are capable of maintaining consistency in the conflict, despite the US and Israel having reduced their fire capabilities.
When these troops are deployed in enclaves in Iran where uranium could be stored, they will have to take control of the terrain so that engineers and technicians can operate heavy machinery to search through the rubble. This debris may also be filled with mines and other types of explosive devices.
Once the enriched uranium is located—remember, it may be distributed in different locations—it will be the turn of special elite troops, also trained to handle radioactive material in combat zones. Its mission will be to ensure the transportation of between “40 and 50 special cylinders similar to diving tanks” in which the enriched uranium is believed to be stored. To do this, these cylinders will have to be placed in special containers prepared to avoid accidents and leaks.
It is estimated that there would be several trucks full of this uranium storage infrastructure to be removed from Iran, which in the words of retired General Joseph Votel, former commander of the US Central Command and the Special Operations Command: “This is not a quick, in-and-out operation.” In this sense, the temporary installation of an airfield for the landing and takeoff of transport aircraft would be vital for the mission. But, in addition, it would be necessary to guarantee that it can be used in safety standards when it comes to transporting nuclear material.
