US Rescue op in Iran was likely attempt to extract HEU from Isfahan | Hacker News Reader

US Rescue op in Iran was likely attempt to extract HEU from Isfahan

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16 pointsbhouston12 comments

Very strange that a rescue mission for one soldier would require hundreds of soldiers and blowing up 2 of our own stuck cargo planes. But I still don't believe some guy on twitter.

Nobody without the appropriate clearance can know the truth, but nonetheless that theory matches very well the known facts, in any case much better than the official narrative.

Some of the most interesting anomalies:

- Massive geographic mismatch between crash site and U.S. forward base

The pilot ejected over Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province (southwestern Iran). The U.S. established its forward operating base on an abandoned airstrip 14 miles north of Shahreza City in Isfahan province, that is more than 200 km (120 miles) away... By incredible coincidence...Isfahan hosts Iran uranium conversion facility and is near the Natanz enrichment plant.

- Six aircraft were deliberately destroyed at the Isfahan airstrip

The official explanation is the MC-130 got stuck. But the MC-130 are purpose built for unimproved runways. [1]

Two getting stuck simultaneously on a pre scouted strip is unusual. Destroying the aircraft eliminates evidence of cargo if they had special equipment to transport the uranium

- A colonel as weapons specialist. Flying combat missions is incredible unusual for such a high ranking officer. That rank is normally squadron commander.

- CIA run operation, not standard military CSAR

This level of CIA involvement is atypical for a combat search and rescue.

- Disproportionate force for one wounded officer

Hundreds of special operations troops, dozens of aircraft, SEAL Team Six, CIA assets, Israeli intelligence support, and a multi-day operation for one colonel with a sprained ankle hiding in a crevice

- Hours-long daylight firefight

Al Jazeera correspondent reported the extraction involved a daylight firefight lasting hours. Special operations doctrine strongly favors brief nighttime extractions.

[1] - https://youtu.be/xJIhSiUkIDk?t=355

Hours-long daylight firefight could be what happens when the enemy is closing in on the downed guy in daylight, and you can't wait. You have the fight you have to have, not the fight you would prefer to have.

Even if the mission was actually about HEU, I don't see why that would lead to the destruction of the aircraft. Why not just fly them out again? So I suspect that they really were stuck. If they were, they would be destroyed regardless of the purpose or mission, to avoid Iran gaining intel or materiel.

I won't comment on the rest. I will note, however, that if the airman was in Boyer-Ahmad, a US raid in Isfahan would be quite a diversion. I will also note that Trump barred the press right about then.

  > Why not just fly them out again? So I suspect that they really were stuck.

Surely the Iranians knew abandoned airstrips like this would be convenient FOBs for Americans, and may have set traps there that were able to disable the two aircraft. Even a few dozen IEDs under the tarmac could have been enough.

It aligns with this earlier leak this month:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/04/01/...

I don't know, seems needlessly speculative. I'll wait until there's more evidence from a better source.

knowing Trump he would already have boasted about that on truth.social

Since the operation appears to have failed, obviously he cannot boast about it.

The normal reaction to the failure of reaching a military objective is to deny that you have ever attempted to reach it.

Cheeto Benito is threatening to jail reporters now.

Soooo much winning.

Well, he's threatening to jail reporters for reporting that an airman was down inside Iran, claiming that Iran didn't know until the US media reported it. He's not currently threatening reporters for claiming that the US was going after the HEU.

Didn’t he mention trying to do it?

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