CNN reports the U.S. military drafted a covert plan to seize Iran's enriched uranium stockpile, with planning so sensitive that senior officials including Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine abruptly left NATO meetings last month to rush to CENTCOM headquarters in Florida. Trump ultimately abandoned the operation over concerns about global market disruption, the risk of a severe Iranian retaliation, and expected high casualties among U.S. forces, according to the report.
CNN reports that the Pentagon developed a highly-classified plan for a direct military operation to seize Iran's enriched uranium stockpile — a far more invasive option than the sanctions and blockade measures the Trump administration has pursued publicly. The planning was so compartmented that Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine and other senior officers abruptly excused themselves from NATO meetings in Europe last month and flew to U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, leaving allied counterparts without explanation. The operation was ultimately abandoned by President Trump, who weighed three main risks: the potential for global financial market panic, the likelihood of an Iranian retaliatory strike far broader than previous episodes, and the expectation of heavy U.S. casualties in what would have been a ground-assault mission against hardened nuclear sites. The CNN report does not specify when the planning occurred, which facilities were targeted, or whether any units had been placed on prepare-to-deploy orders. Neither the Pentagon nor the White House has commented on the report as of Wednesday evening. The account, attributed to unnamed U.S. officials, adds detail to a known tension in Trump's Iran policy: the President has simultaneously issued harsh ultimatums for a nuclear deal (as The Zioneer reported June 8) and publicly celebrated the CENTCOM oil-tanker seizures, but has repeatedly opposed large-scale combat operations that risk American lives or economic disruption. The revelation is the most concrete public evidence that a U.S. unilateral seizure of Iran's nuclear material was not a theoretical option but a fully-developed contingency that reached the President for a go/no-go decision.
2 developments
- ConfirmedTrump discussed a short but extensive military operation in Iran, the White House weighs short-duration campaign
- StrongTrump administration reportedly reconsiders regime change in Iran
- DevelopingTrump cancels tonight's strikes on Iran, Israeli analysts warn of risk
- DevelopingTrump Cancels Planned Iran Strikes as Geneva Agreement Framework Advances
Source and signal
- Open-source intake