Pentagon Weighs Large-Scale Ground Operation to Seize or Destroy Iranian Enriched Uranium Stockpiles

Analysis
Pentagon consideration of a ground raid marks a shift from strike-only options toward physical recovery of fissile material, exposing thousands of troops to sustained ground combat rather than a single strike window. Confidence is low, resting on unnamed sources describing an internal planning process with no observable change in force posture; sourcing itself traces to a single unnamed-media account amplified by RT, TASS, Kyiv Post and The New Voice of Ukraine rather than independently corroborated. Planning has moved from May's general references to a possible operation toward named targets at Fordow, Natanz, Isfahan and Pickaxe Mountain with unit-level roles assigned to Navy SEALs, Army Rangers and the 21st Ordnance Company, and the extended timeline gives Iran further opportunity to disperse or bury material more deeply. The disclosure may instead function primarily as coercive signaling to pressure Tehran back to negotiations rather than reflect an operation nearing execution, a reading reinforced by Cooper's push to halt Hormuz strikes and Caine's interceptor-stock warning, both signaling the military sees diminishing returns from the air campaign.