US Military Prepared Ground Mission to Capture Iran’s Uranium, but Trump Paused It: CNN
Military planners weighed a high-risk ground mission that officials said could require hundreds of special operators and expose U.S. troops to heavy casualties.
- The U.S. military rapidly drew up plans for an emergency ground operation to forcibly seize Iran's highly enriched uranium, preparing a major deployment of significant ground forces rather than a simple special operations raid.
- The planning was so urgent it triggered a secret transatlantic journey by America's top general, with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine rushing from a NATO summit in Brussels to U.S. Central Command in Florida on May 19 to review the strategy.
- Military planners designated the proposed mission as a "High to Extreme" risk level, warning that troops would face heavily fortified underground facilities and booby-trapped storage tunnels across primary nuclear sites like Isfahan, Natanz, and Fordow.
- President Donald Trump ultimately hit pause on the ground invasion due to severe risk factors, following direct briefings warning him of significant American casualties, a prolonged regional war, and catastrophic disruptions to the global economy.
- The secret preparations leaked amidst a sharp pivot toward diplomacy, as Trump recently downplayed the option of a physical seizure by noting the uranium is "buried under a mountain," shifting focus instead to a pending regional ceasefire that could see the material downblended under UN supervision.
59 Articles
59 Articles
The Pentagon had ready operational plans to send ground forces to Iran to catch enriched uranium, but once presented to Donald Trump the president stopped them. ...
US military rushed to prepare ground mission to capture Iran’s uranium
According to a report from CNN, the US military rushed preparations last month for a potential ground mission into Iran aimed at forcibly capturing the country’s highly enriched uranium, a critical material for nuclear weapons production. Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made an urgent secret trip from a NATO meeting […]
US prepared urgent ground mission to seize Iran’s uranium, but Trump blocked it
American forces reportedly drew up a plan to send ground troops into Iran to capture enriched uranium buried in nuclear sites, but Trump stopped the mission over fears of Iranian retaliation, heavy US casualties and damage to the global economy
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 58% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
