The US’ top general made a secret, rushed visit to US Central Command headquarters in Florida late last month to be briefed in person on plans for the US military to send ground troops into Iran to forcibly seize its highly enriched uranium, the key component necessary to produce a nuclear weapon, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN, APA reports.
The briefings were so urgent and sensitive that they required Gen. Dan Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to rush from a meeting of senior NATO officials in Brussels back across the Atlantic to Tampa, Florida, on May 19, the sources said. The high-level and pressing nature of the briefings underscores how close the administration came to greenlighting the high-risk ground operation, sources said.
A Joint Staff spokesperson declined to comment about the preparations for a potential operation.
Caine then briefed President Donald Trump on the options for such an operation, one of the sources said.
But Trump hit pause after being warned it would likely prompt severe Iranian retaliation, extending the war and plunging the global economy into further turmoil, the sources said. Trump has also voiced concern about the potential for a significant number of US casualties, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The advanced planning for the operation came amid repeated statements by Trump that the US and Iran were approaching an agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz and conclude negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. On Thursday Trump said the US and Iran would soon be signing a deal, potentially over the weekend.
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