Image Credit: Pool / Pool / Getty 
On Wednesday it was reported that the “suicide mission” of sending U.S. forces deep into Iran to snatch-and-grab 1000 pounds of Uranium was President Donald Trump’s own idea.
The plan given to the President was drafted after he had asked the Pentagon for a proposal on a hypothetical military operation to procure Iran’s enriched uranium, two people familiar with matter told The Washington Post:
The complex plan was briefed to the president in the past week after he asked for a proposal, they said, as were its significant operational risks.
Trump’s request for the plan, previously unreported, signals his interest in contemplating what would be an unusually sensitive and high-stakesspecial operations mission. The administration’s consideration of such an operation was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
“This would be one of, if not the largest, most complicated special operations in history,” Mick Mulroy, former deputy assistant secretary of defense and retired CIA and Marine officer said. “It’s a major risk to the force.”
Alex Jones described the plan as a “suicide mission.”
“If you have a 70 IQ [mentally retarded] you could see this is a suicide mission,” Alex Jones said Monday, going on to explain how the Iranians have obviously relocated the uranium multiple times, turning a radioactive snatch-and-grab into an atomic search party behind enemy lines.
The administration is hoping to convince Iran to peacefully hand over the uranium as part of negotiations, but will also not rule out grabbing it by force. Tehran rejected the U.S. proposal, but previously suggested in pre-war negotiations it could “dilute” the enriched nuclear material to a lower level.
“They’re going to give us the nuclear dust,” Trump told reporters Sunday night.
Despite Trump calling the nuclear material “dust” the radioactive compound is not dust, and is apparently not solid either. It is in the form of uranium hexafluoride gas which is contained in cylinders similar in appearance to scuba tanks which are about three feet high.
“Before Israel and the U.S. conducted a series of airstrikes on Iran in June last year, the country was believed to have more than 400 kilograms of 60% highly enriched uranium, and nearly 200 kilograms of 20% fissile material, which is easily converted into 90%-weapons-grade uranium,” The Washington Post said Sunday when they initially reported on the proposed operation. “International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi has said he thinks the uranium is mainly at two of the three sites that the U.S. and Israel attacked in June: an underground tunnel at the nuclear complex in Isfahan and a cache at Natanz. The Iranians have centrifuges to enrich uranium and the capability to set up a new underground enrichment site, experts said.”
On Wednesday The Post elaborated on the technicals of the proposed operation:
Former commandos and officials described the extraordinary complexities surrounding such an operation.
The logistics would probably start with striking Iranian defenses and equipment to create safer passage for the ground troops, who would then fly hundreds of miles into the country to establish a defense perimeter at the facilities. One option, experts have speculated, is the Army’s 82nd Airborne and Rangers parachuting to seize the ground, which could be within range of enemy artillery, missiles and drones.
From there, engineers would probably build an airstrip to bring in supplies and equipment, some of which may be airdropped from cargo aircraft or slung from utility helicopters. Both options would leave the slower-moving transport aircraft vulnerable to enemy fire.
Keeping the heavy excavation work going would require a deep bench of support troops, officials said. Mechanics, drivers, refuelers and others would work round-the-clock. Food and water would need constant resupply. Civilian nuclear specialists from the Energy Department and other agencies also would probably be on-site, former officials said, to assess risks and supervise the uranium removal.
The operations to house, feed and protect personnel would probably look more like a small base than a low-profile, clandestine mission.
The effort to blast through the rock and enter the storage area would be the start of a grueling, yard-by-yard process for commandos to enter the abyss of a facility thick with unknowns.
Breaching teams, possibly from the Army’s Delta Force or Navy SEALs, would wield saws and blow torches to get past obstacles inside the underground facility while shooters covered them, according to a former special operator with experience training for such missions. The commandos would wear protective uniforms and rebreathers, carrying sensors to detect radioactive threats.
The teams would have to be mindful that anything they shoot, explode or cut through could disturb dangerous material. Concerns about radioactive exposure would require arduous and repeated decontamination of personnel and equipment. There might be booby traps.
BREAKING: Oil Prices EXPLODE After Trump Signals That US Is Moving To Wartime Economy
