The Scoop
As the Trump administration weighs whether to send ground troops into Iran, one option at the president’s disposal — developed by both US Central Command and the US’ Israeli allies — would send Special Operations units into the country to seize and destroy key nuclear sites.
The option is one among many that is likely to be considered once the focus shifts to actually destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities, according to military experts and those familiar with long-developed options on the table.
The US Army’s special missions unit known as Delta Force has long readied a “counter-WMD mission, where their job is to go in and get loose — we call it loose nukes operations — where it could be any fissile material or centrifuges or anything else associated with that, to actually go in and get it and remove it,” said Jonathan Hackett, who served as a US Marine Corps interrogator and a special operations capabilities specialist. “They haven’t had to do that very often in the past, if ever, but they practice that. They’re proficient at that. That is one option that exists on the table that’s probably not widely noted in the press, but does exist,” he said.
Last June, Trump declared Iran’s nuclear facilities to be obliterated, but the facilities — and Iran’s nuclear capabilities — are now the subject of renewed focus. One of Trump’s stated goals in this war is to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
So far, the US and Israel have focused their energies on destroying Iran’s Navy and ballistic missile industry. Key nuclear sites like the one in the central city of Isfahan — believed to, in deep underground tunnels in the mountains, contain enough uranium for up to 10 atomic bombs — have been largely left alone.
Iran also appears to already be making preparations to try and fortify Isfahan against an attack by the US: A report published late January by the Institute for Science and International Security found “new efforts by Iran to bury the middle and southernmost tunnel entrances [in Isfahan] with soil.”
And a ground attack on Iranian nuclear facilities has long been considered by the US government and its Israeli allies, according to one former official who had direct knowledge of some of the conversations.
That official told Semafor that during former President Barack Obama’s time in office, the then-Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak proposed to the White House plans that would include Israeli (not US) commandos on the ground in places like Isfahan, Fordow, and Qom.
The Obama administration, according to the official, thought the plan was “crazy.”
Under more recent administrations, though, the former official said CENTCOM developed plans for US raids on Isfahan and other sites. Another person familiar with the situation told Semafor that there are “contingency plans to temporarily occupy certain locations,” though there are also many unanswered questions.
“How long would it take? How permissive is the environment? What are the material hazards and logistical requirements? To how many of these places must we go in order to effectively remove or destroy highly enriched uranium and plutonium?” the person familiar with the situation added, emphasizing some of those key questions.
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The US could also continue to limit its attack on Iran to air strikes. Last June, the Trump administration conducted air strikes against facilities in Isfahan, Fordow, and Natanz. And some experts believe that’s the best avenue for the US to take.
“We are waiting to see if the United States and Israel target the tunnel complex at Isfahan, so either destroying the tunnel entrances or possibly dropping a GBU-57 deep earth penetrating bunker buster to try to dig into the tunnel and destroy the tunnel from the inside,” said Spencer Faragasso, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Science and International Security.
Hackett also acknowledged some of the administration’s alternative options, telling Semafor that the US could just “destroy the land around” the nuclear sites “to such a degree that would be nearly impossible” for Iran to remove key nuclear items “without advanced engineering equipment that’d be highly noticeable to outside viewers.”
“First, I think, would be additional airstrikes using the Massive Ordnance penetrators, if we are intending to [strike],” said Mick Mulroy, who served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East during Trump’s first term. “And I know we do have units that are trained and capable of going in there and recovering highly enriched uranium or nuclear weapons … that would be a very risky operation.”
The US Central Command declined to comment on military plans, but referred Semafor to recent remarks made by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper.
“One of the objectives the President has always said is that Iran will not have a nuclear bomb, nuclear capabilities,” Hegseth said this week. “But we would never disclose what we will or will not do inside an operational plan. So, Admiral Cooper’s got a plan. We’re working [on] that plan. And targets will be struck or not struck, according to what we want to achieve.”
In a statement, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly reiterated Trump’s “objectives with regard to Operation Epic Fury.”
“The United States Military is meeting or surpassing all of its goals, and the President always has all options at his disposal,” she said.
Shelby’s view
Through my time covering Trump, I’ve learned that he relishes choosing dramatic actions that former presidents scoffed at. This perhaps makes him more likely to consider something like a ground operation using special forces.
It’s also likely the only way the US can completely ensure the destruction of nuclear materials — key to Trump’s stated goals in this conflict with Iran. And Trump is emboldened after the successful capture of Venezuela’s former president, Nicholas Maduro, and the early success in dominating Iranian airspace.
Room for Disagreement
Faragasso, of the Institute for Science and International Security, argued a Special Operations ground plan would be far too dangerous and complex, making the option less likely for the US.
“In terms of special forces going on the ground, it’d be really, really, really difficult and extremely dangerous,” he said. “They would need earth moving equipment, which would have to be brought there. So I would probably rule out a Special Forces operation, and it would be a much safer and easier operation to attack it from [the air].”
Notable
Trump has privately expressed “serious interest” in deploying “a small contingent of U.S. troops that would be used for specific strategic purposes” in Iran, according to NBC News.
Trump on Saturday suggested Iran had “apologized and surrendered to its Middle East neighbors” and said the country “will be hit very hard” today.
Ben Smith contributed reporting for this piece.