The US military had planned to send ground troops into Iran to seize its highly enriched uranium, a key component in producing a nuclear weapon. However, President Donald Trump paused the operation due to concerns about potential Iranian retaliation and significant US casualties.
Background
The US has been in a conflict with Iran, and Trump has repeatedly stated that the US and Iran are approaching an agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz and conclude negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. Despite this, the US military had been preparing for a potential ground operation to capture Iran’s uranium.
Gen. Dan Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made a secret visit to US Central Command headquarters in Florida to be briefed on the plans. The briefings were so urgent and sensitive that they required Caine to rush back from a meeting of senior NATO officials in Brussels.
Consequences
The potential operation would have required a significant US ground force, including hundreds of special operators. The risk of economic damage from the closing of the Bab-al-Mandab strait, a key waterway and global trade chokepoint, could have been catastrophic to the world economy.
Iran has also been plotting an economic ‘nuclear option’ if negotiations with the US fail and the war resumes. This could involve getting the Houthis, the Iranians’ chief proxy force in Yemen, to close the Bab-al-Mandab strait.
Nuclear experts have expressed skepticism that a US military operation could even locate and verify all the uranium, much less safely and completely remove it under hostile conditions.
Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
