Tensions between Washington and Tehran have reached a fever pitch as reports emerge of a high-stakes Pentagon contingency plan to physically seize Iran’s nuclear stockpile. Elite units, spearheaded by the U.S. Army’s Delta Force, are reportedly rehearsing a mission to extract 440.9 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium from deep within Iranian territory. This amount represents a critical threshold, bringing Tehran dangerously close to weapons-grade capability.
The logistics of such an operation are staggering, involving the penetration of the Isfahan and Fordow nuclear facilities. Intelligence suggests that roughly 200 kilograms of the material is currently secured within a steel-walled underground bunker at Isfahan, a site already scarred by joint U.S.-Israeli strikes last June. The remaining stockpile is believed to be hidden in the highly fortified subterranean depths of the Fordow facility.
To execute this "mission impossible," the Trump administration is weighing the deployment of a massive task force including the Green Berets and the 75th Ranger Regiment. Beyond the elite operators tasked with the extraction, a security perimeter would require over 2,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division and 4,400 Marines. These forces would be responsible for holding off Iranian counterattacks while the technical teams secure and transport the radioactive material.
Military analysts remain deeply skeptical of the mission's feasibility, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) resolve to defend these assets at any cost. Even if the material is located, the technical challenge of moving heavy, radioactive canisters through a combat zone presents a logistical nightmare. Former commanders warn that the risks to U.S. personnel are extreme, as the IRGC maintains a force of over 150,000 soldiers dedicated to protecting the regime's most sensitive infrastructure.