Recently CNN.com reported the following:
Capturing Iran’s highly enriched uranium would require a
large US ground force, sources say
CNN - By Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen, Haley Britzky, Avery
Schmitz
10 Mar 2026
Recovering Iran’s remaining highly enriched uranium
stockpile believed to be sitting in a storage facility deep underground, an
objective the Trump administration has been discussing, would require a
significant number of US ground troops beyond a small special operations
footprint, seven current and former officials familiar with the military
planning told CNN.
The US bombing campaign that struck three Iranian nuclear
facilities last June did not destroy all of that country’s highly enriched
uranium stockpile, the material needed to create a nuclear weapon. Much of it
is believed to be at Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site, said three of the sources.
President Donald Trump has made complete elimination of Iran’s nuclear
capability one of his stated aims of the war.
If the Trump administration went ahead with an operation to
retrieve the uranium, it could mark the first major commitment of US ground
forces as part of the campaign, an escalation that would put a large number of
troops in harm’s way as part of a complex mission to move or render safe tons
of highly radioactive material.
The uranium at Isfahan is accessible to the Iranians, who
had been working for months after the US military strikes last year to clear
the rubble of the facility’s aboveground structures and access the underground
tunnels where the uranium was hidden, two of the sources said. UN nuclear
watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday that around 200 kilograms of Iran’s
highly enriched uranium is probably still at Isfahan, with some also at Iran’s
Natanz nuclear facility.
Highly enriched uranium is a dual-use material, and Iran has
said it produces it only for peaceful energy purposes. But enriching it above a
certain threshold — around 90% —means it can be used to create nuclear weapons.
Iran’s uranium is currently enriched at around 60%, according to the
International Atomic Energy Agency.
The White House and Pentagon did not respond to a request
for comment ahead of publication.
Trump has repeatedly said that Iran can never be allowed to
have a nuclear weapons program. “One thing is certain: I will never allow the
world’s number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear
weapon,” he said last month.
‘The logistics and risk involved would be prohibitive’
US military airstrikes alone can’t penetrate the Isfahan
tunnels, primarily because the facility does not have ventilation shaft
openings like some of Iran’s other nuclear sites, which serve as weak points
for a storage structure. That has led to discussions within the Trump
administration about deploying elite units within the US military’s Joint
Special Operations Command, potentially in coordination with Israeli commando
forces, to physically infiltrate the tunnels and secure or destroy the enriched
uranium, the sources said.
A mission like that, however, would require dozens if not
hundreds of additional troops on the ground to help support the core special
operations team tasked with finding the uranium, the sources said, particularly
given the Iranian military’s continued control over the sites and surrounding
area. That support could entail not just troops to secure the area, but also
logistical support given the challenges of working with nuclear material deep
underground.
Delta Force and Seal Team 6 operators receive training in
countering weapons of mass destruction, and US Special Operations Command has
been the lead group for the Pentagon’s counter-WMD mission for nearly a decade.
Several elements of the US government also have teams that are designated
“render safe units” that can handle radiological material, one of the sources
said. JSOC also has contingency plans to either “render safe” the material
underground and/or render the facility unusable.
One retired special forces officer not involved in the
planning told CNN that in their experience, a mission like this would probably
require a tier one special operations unit; specialized explosive ordnance
disposal personnel attached to that team; outer security which could be either
the 75th Ranger Regiment or the 82nd Airborne Division depending on how large
the area is and how many people are needed; exfiltration and infiltration
assets like MC-130J aircraft or MH-47 Chinook helicopters; and consistent air
cover overhead throughout the mission.
“The logistics and risk involved would be prohibitive, to
say the least,” said one person familiar with the discussions.
In a sign that the US could be keeping its options open, at
least six MC-130Js are now flying out of RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom,
according to flight data and satellite imagery reviewed by CNN, positioning
them closer to Iran if called upon.
These variants of the C-130 cargo plane are specially
equipped to support covert infiltration and exfiltration of US commandos into
hostile environments.
A satellite image captured over the airbase on March 5
appears to show several MC-130Js parked on the tarmac.
Three of the six aircraft identified are newly arrived to
RAF Mildenhall, having flown in from across Europe in recent weeks. Three
others have been based out of RAF Mildenhall for months.
The same dataset suggests nearly every aircraft has
participated in training missions over the United Kingdom and North Sea in
recent weeks.
The Iranian regime, meanwhile, is proving resilient in the
face of relentless US-Israeli airstrikes. Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of
former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has been installed as Iran’s new ayatollah
— a signal that Iran’s leadership has no intention of folding to American
pressure.
Without the outright collapse of the regime, some level of
diplomatic engagement rather than just sheer military power will likely be
required to eliminate Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, multiple sources said.
Translation
消息人士稱，去獲取伊朗的高濃縮鈾需要美國投入大量地面部隊
根據七位熟悉軍事計劃的現任和前任官員向
CNN 透露，特朗普政府一直在討論獲取相信存放在地下深處的儲存設施中的伊朗剩餘高濃縮鈾庫存，但這需要投入大量美國地面部隊，遠非小型特種作戰部隊所能及。
去年六月，美國對伊朗三處核設施的轟炸並未摧毀該國全部的高濃縮鈾庫存，而這些高濃縮鈾是製造核武所需的材料。三位消息人士稱，據信其中大部分仍存放在伊朗伊斯法罕(Isfahan) 核設施。特朗普總統已將徹底消除伊朗的核能力列為此次戰爭的設定目標之一。
如特朗普政府真的啟動奪取鈾的行動，這可能標誌著美國地面部隊會首次大規模參與這項行動，事態升級意味著大量士兵將身陷險境，執行一項複雜的任務，即轉移或安全處置數噸高放射性物質。
兩名消息人士稱，伊朗方面可以接觸到伊斯法罕的鈾。在去年美軍空襲之後，伊朗方面已經進行了數月的清理工作，以清除該設施地上建築的廢墟，並進入藏匿鈾的地下隧道。聯合國核子監督機構負責人拉斐爾·格羅西(Rafael Grossi)周一表示，伊朗約有200公斤高濃縮鈾可能仍在伊斯法罕，部分可能也藏在伊朗納坦茲(Natanz)核設施。
高濃縮鈾是一種兩用材料，伊朗方面表示，其生產高濃縮鈾僅用於和平能源用途。但將鈾濃縮至一定門檻以上 - 大約90% - 就意味著它可以用來製造核武。據國際原子能總署稱，伊朗目前的鈾濃縮度約為60%。
白宮和五角大廈在本文發表前未有回應置評請求。
特朗普曾多次表示，絕不允許伊朗計劃去擁有核武。他上個月說：“有一點是肯定的：我絕對不會允許這個世界頭號恐怖主義贊助者 - 無疑他們是 - 擁有核武器。”
“所涉及的後勤和風險將令人望而卻步”
僅靠美軍空襲無法突破伊斯法罕的地道，主要原因是該設施不像伊朗其他一些核設施那樣設有通風井口，而通風井口是儲存結構的弱點。消息人士稱，這引發了特朗普政府內部關於部署美軍聯合特種作戰司令部精銳部隊的討論，可能與以色列特種部隊協調行動，以滲透隧道並獲取或銷毀濃縮鈾。
消息人士還表示，鑑於伊朗軍方持續控制這些地點及其周邊地區，此類任務需要數十甚至數百名地面增援部隊來支援負責搜尋鈾的核心特種作戰小組。這種支援不僅包括確保區域安全的部隊，還包括後勤保護，因為在地下深處處理核子材料極具挑戰性。
三角洲部隊和海豹突擊隊第六分隊的隊員接受過應對大規模殺傷性武器的訓練，而美國特種作戰司令部近十年來一直是五角大廈反大規模殺傷性武器任務的領導單位。其中一位消息人士稱，美國政府的多個部門也設有專門處理放射性物質的「安全處置小組」。聯合特種作戰司令部（JSOC）也制定了應急計劃，以令到藏於地下物質「安全化」，及/或使該設施無法再被使用。
一位未參與計劃制定的退役特種部隊軍官告訴CNN，根據他們的經驗，此類任務可能需要一支一級特種作戰部隊；一支配備專業爆炸物處理人員的隊伍；外圍安保力量，根據區域大小和所需人員數量去出動第75遊騎兵團或第82空降師；撤離和滲透裝備，如
MC-130J 飛機或
MH-47 Chinook直升機；以及在整個任務期間持續的空中掩護。
一位熟悉討論內容的人士稱：“毫不誇張地說，其中涉及的後勤保障和風險是難以承受的。”
CNN查閱的飛行數據和衛星圖像顯示，至少有六架MC-130J運輸機目前正從英國米爾登霍爾 (Mildenhall)皇家空軍基地起飛，在需要部署時可以更能靠近伊朗的位置，這表明美國可能仍在保留各種選項。
這些C-130運輸機的衍生機種都經過特殊改裝，能夠支援美國特種部隊秘密滲透至敵對環境和撤離。
3月5日拍攝的一張空軍基地衛星影像顯示，數架MC-130J飛機停放在停機坪上。
已識別的六架飛機中有三架是最近幾週從歐洲各地飛往米爾登霍爾皇家空軍基地的。另外三架已在米爾登霍爾皇家空軍基地駐紮數月。
同一資料集顯示，幾乎所有飛機最近幾週都參與了在英國和北海上空的訓練任務。
同時，伊朗政權面對美以持續不斷的空襲時，展現了強大的韌性。前最高領袖哈梅內伊的次子穆傑塔巴·哈梅內伊(Mojtaba Khamenei)已被任命為伊朗新任最高領袖 - 這表明伊朗領導層無意屈服於美國的壓力。
多位消息人士稱，在伊朗政權徹底崩潰之前，要摧毀伊朗的濃縮鈾庫存，可能需要採取一定程度的外交手段，而不僅僅是依靠軍事力量。
So, the US bombing campaign that struck three
Iranian nuclear facilities last June had not destroyed all the enriched uranium
stockpile. That has led to discussions within the Trump administration about
deploying US elite units, potentially in coordination with Israeli commando
forces, to physically infiltrate the tunnels and secure or destroy the enriched
uranium. A mission like that, however, would require dozens if not hundreds of
additional troops to operate at a location controlled by the Iranian military. It seems that without a regime change in Iran, diplomatic engagement will likely be
required to eliminate Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile. Apparent, Trump has
not yet finished his job and let’s wait and see what Trump will do next.
