Story perspectives

US readies mission to seize Iran enriched uranium

7/27/2026

Summary

US Seizes Uranium

The United States is preparing a mission to seize enriched uranium from Iran’s nuclear facilities, a move that Deputy director Joseph Rodgers said may become option if negotiations fail.
The plan could involve troops securing the Fordo and Isfahan sites—where Iran has reinforced Isfahan with mines, explosives and booby-traps—while a team retrieves material.
The International Atomic Energy Agency reported in 2025 that Iran possessed upwards of 20,000 pounds of enriched uranium.

Summary

Iran Deepens Bunker

Iran is constructing the underground Pickaxe Mountain facility 80-100 m below ground to resist bunker-buster bombs.
Construction began by 2020 and accelerated after the July 2020 Natanz sabotage explosion.
Late-January 2026 satellite images show Iran fully backfilled three tunnel entrances at the Isfahan complex to block airstrikes.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi says inspectors have never entered Pickaxe Mountain, preventing verification of its centrifuges.

History

Historical Context

In September 1980 Iran’s air force damaged Iraq’s under-construction Osirak reactor, the first preventive strike on a nuclear facility. Israel then launched Operation Opera on 7 June 1981, using F-16s and F-15s to destroy the 40-megawatt reactor that held about 10 kg of enriched uranium, cementing the “Begin Doctrine” of pre-emptive action. That precedent underlies today’s U.S. contemplation of a covert raid on Iran’s 20,000-pound uranium stockpile.

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US Seizes Uranium

The United States is preparing a mission to seize enriched uranium from Iran’s nuclear facilities, a move that Deputy director Joseph Rodgers said may become option if negotiations fail.
The plan could involve troops securing the Fordo and Isfahan sites—where Iran has reinforced Isfahan with mines, explosives and booby-traps—while a team retrieves material.
The International Atomic Energy Agency reported in 2025 that Iran possessed upwards of 20,000 pounds of enriched uranium.

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