Trump considers launching a “suicide mission” to capture enriched uranium and end the Iranian nuclear threat

“They have not been able to go after him,” he said, referring to the fact that the intelligence services had not reported his recovery by the Iranians. “We may do it ourselves. It’s something that we can do later“he added.

But military experts warn that such a raid could be considered a “suicide mission“, fraught with risks, more extensive and complex than the recent victories of the special forces of the United States and Israel.

On the same day, the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahuaddressed the nation to report the results of the operation Roaring Lion deployed a week earlier with American help. He noted that his objectives were to destabilize the Iranian regime and end the nuclear threat.

“In the first week of war, we have eliminated the tyrant Khamenei“, he announced. He assured that “government buildings, atomic infrastructure, missile warehouses” and numerous strategic objectives had been destroyed.

It referred, among other things, to Nuclear Technology Center located in Isfahan, an industrial complex of 150,000 hectares in which plates of fuel for atomic reactors. The premises include an underground area where it was supposedly stored large amount of material enriched.

Isfahan was subjected to precision bombing during the military operations June 2025. The facilities suffered various damages and satellite images showed that reconstruction and camouflage work was being carried out, but intelligence services reported that the underground uranium deposits were still intact.

To completely eliminate the threat it was imperative to destroy or bury them under tons of dirt and concrete that made its use impossible. That was the mission of the American B2s that dropped guided bunker-busting bombs on the complex in the early stages of the operation. Epic Fury.

The images obtained after the raids indicate that the main entrances to the tunnels appear covered by debris. That would not prevent a crack or loophole from allowing the Iranians to access the interior. To eliminate the threat we must ensure that this cannot occur.

enriched uranium

To produce a chain reaction, it is necessary to ‘enrich’ the element with the isotope U-235. The mineral in its natural state has a very small concentration, less than 1%. The fuel used in the nuclear power plants requires reaching a value between 3% and 5%.

The manufacturing of a tactical weapon requires an enrichment level of at least 90%. The process is slow, complex and expensive during the first phases, but once it exceeds 40%, everything can go very quickly. Experts warn that going from 40% to 90% necessary for military uses is a matter of a few months.

He International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) distributed a report among member states in February. It described that Iran stored about 440 kg with different levels of enrichment.

“We believe that, until our last inspection, just over 200 kg were stored in Isfahan at 60%,” declared the director of the Agency, Rafael Grossiat a press conference held in Paris on Monday, March 9. If the figure of 440 kg is confirmed, that would mean that Iran would be in a position to manufacture between 8 and 10 artifacts in a few weeks.

suicide mission

Satellite images appear to confirm Iranian statements that the material is “under the rubble“. It would have been stored in the form of gas uranium hexafluoride contained in very heavy metal cylinders.

Experts estimate that it would be necessary between 30 and 60 drums and it is unknown if the bombings have damaged the containers. If that were the case, the risk of a nuclear chain reaction would be high.

To extract them it would take much more than the Delta Force who captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife in January. It would be necessary to have excavators, bomb technicians, heavy transport and hundreds of human personnel. All this transported to the heart of Iran, more than 800 km from the nearest coast.

The most complex option would be to extract the material to transport it out of reach of the Iranians. It would be necessary to mobilize Hercules transport planes and Chinook helicopters. The command of the air is total, but on land you can expect fierce resistance.

Another simpler option is send elite units to guarantee the destruction of the arsenal. The probability of success is greater, but the risk of radioactive contamination or even causing a chain reaction cannot be ruled out.

Trump faces a difficult decision: send a force to carry out the ‘almost impossible’ mission of extracting uranium or destroying it, or risk leaving enriched uranium within the reach of a regime decomposed and humiliated by war.