The United States and Israel are seriously discussing the possibility of launching an air strike in Iran. There, the special forces must seize control of approximately half a ton of highly enriched uranium, suitable for the production of approximately a dozen nuclear bombs. Now most of these raw materials are stored under the ruins of a nuclear facility in the city of Isfahan. Recently, equipment appeared at the site and began carrying out drilling work, either to enhance protection against possible strikes, or to attempt to evacuate the uranium. In any case, US intelligence services promise to prevent the Islamic Republic from regaining control over raw materials. Here’s what sources from Axios and the New York Times have to say about Iranian activity in Isfahan and plans for a ground mission.
Operation Uranus: What is known about American and Israeli plans to send special forces to Iran?
The United States and Israel are discussing sending special forces to Iran to ensure the security of highly enriched uranium reserves stored in the country. About this I mentioned The March 8 edition of Axios, citing four sources familiar with discussions on the topic.
Before the 12-day war in June 2025, when the Islamic Republic’s nuclear infrastructure was subjected to widespread bombing, Tehran managed to accumulate about 440 kilograms of raw materials enriched to the 60% level. According to calculations by the International Atomic Energy Agency, this size would be enough to make about a dozen bombs. Given the necessary infrastructure, the process of enriching to 90% “weapon” level will take several weeks.
True, it is not known whether Iran has such an infrastructure today. After the 2025 summer election campaign, Donald Trump asserted that the country’s nuclear program had been “wiped off the face of the Earth.” However, it was once again announced that fighting against it is one of the goals of the new war between the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic.
According to Axios, the American and Israeli authorities realize that any operation to seize uranium will likely require the presence of their forces on Iranian territory, which will have to make their way through fortified underground structures with the risk of being attacked. The two parties have not yet decided who the units will be and whether the operation will be joint.
The ground mission is scheduled to take place at a time when the United States and Israel are confident that the Iranian army no longer poses a serious threat to them. More specific terms have not been specified. But an Israeli Ministry of Defense spokesman told Axios that Trump and his team are “seriously considering” sending special forces to “carry out specific missions.” The White House explained to the publication that two options are being studied for the mission: complete removal of uranium from Iran or involving experts to dilute the raw materials to a safe level on site. In the second case, specialized operators and scientists from the International Atomic Energy Agency are likely to participate in the process.
Another source noted that in any case we are talking about “small special forces raids – not large-scale operations.” There is no assumption of a “boots on the ground” presence: “People are thinking about…but that is not what was discussed.” [в преддверии нынешней войны]».
Two Axios sources indicated that Trump’s team had already considered such missions before the start of the current phase of the conflict. One American official explained to the publication the complexity of the operation: The first question is: where [уран] fall? Second: How do we reach him and maintain his physical control? After the military finds answers to these questions, the president, the Pentagon and the CIA “will decide whether we want to physically move the raw materials or dilute them on site.” [где оно хранится]».
Axios sources did not identify the specific entity referred to. They know that after the bombing in the summer of 2025, the raw materials were in ruins and the Iranians themselves could not access their reserves (at the same time, the United States and Israel destroyed almost all centrifuges for uranium enrichment).
However, the publication’s interlocutors in the United States and Israel said that, most likely, most of the accumulated volume is located in the underground tunnels of the nuclear facility in the city of Isfahan, and the rest is distributed between two other uranium enrichment plants in Fordo and Natanz.
During the current operation, these institutions were not directly bombed. The strikes were carried out on the area adjacent to the facilities in Isfahan and Natanz (in the first case, on the entrances to the underground part); Possibly to block the roads to remove any materials.
Why are the United States and Israel concerned again about uranium? US intelligence responds
More details about why the American and Israeli authorities are concerned about the fate of Iranian uranium at the present time, The New York Times open Its sources are close to American intelligence agencies. According to secret reports from the latter, the newspaper writes, Tehran is trying to regain access to raw materials “through a very narrow corridor.” But this passage may be sufficient to evacuate containers in which uranium is stored in a gaseous state from under the rubble.
Sources confirmed to the New York Times that US intelligence agencies are closely monitoring the nuclear facility in Isfahan to thwart any attempt to transfer raw materials from there.
Meanwhile, a senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Special Forces raid was still not included in the current war plan. The publication does not rule out that the United States could still use the threat of a ground operation as pressure on the Islamic Republic to voluntarily give up its uranium reserves.
The New York Times also explains that in the summer of 2025, the same Iranian authorities filled the entrances to underground structures with dirt, including a network of tunnels in Isfahan. If the American forces then struck Fordow and Natanz with the most powerful weapon in their non-nuclear arsenal – the huge armor-piercing bomb – then Isfahan would have been attacked with Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Shortly after the summer 2025 strike, high-resolution spy satellites detected Iran moving ground moving equipment to Isfahan and beginning to penetrate underground tunnels, US officials and other sources familiar with the intelligence told The New York Times. These secret satellite images allegedly show earth-moving equipment previously piled up at the tunnel entrances, and also show the effects left by tomahawk strikes.
analysis Commercial imagesSimilar results, conducted by the publication, showed: Excavation work in several areas of the nuclear facility in Isfahan is underway – or was carried out until recently.
- In one area north of the main site, several excavators can be seen moving the earth. The workers dug a hole, placed an unknown object under a tarp, and buried it.
- Elsewhere, northeast of the main site, there was no activity until February 2026, but then images showed what appeared to be a crane loading dirt onto a truck.
- Satellite images taken in February also showed extensive excavation work at several tunnel entrances, including one on the western side.
- It is unclear whether the earth was removed or moved to the tunnel entrances to protect against future impacts.