As the tensions continue in the West Asia region, the US and Israel have reportedly held discussions about the potential deployment of Special Forces into Iran in order to secure the country’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. This report highlights the critical focus on Iranian nuclear assets as hostilities continue to escalate.
ANI reported that, according to four sources with knowledge of the discussions cited by Axios, such an operation would be considered at a later stage of the ongoing war.
Meanwhile, reinforcing this objective, United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also issued a new threat via social media, warning of consequences for any entities that target American citizens.
The warning was shared in a post by United States Central Command (CENTCOM) on X (formerly Twitter).
“If you kill Americans, if you threaten Americans anywhere on earth, we will hunt you down without apology and without hesitation, and we will kill you,” US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was quoted as saying.
Accompanying this stern message, a 21-second video clip was also posted by CENTCOM, with a visual demonstration of the military’s current reach. The footage showed a series of “unclassified” visuals of vehicles and structures being destroyed by US forces.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump asserted on Saturday that the US has successfully neutralised the entire Iranian leadership. He characterised these military operations as the removal of a significant “cancer” from the global stage.
“We’re winning the war by a lot. We’ve decimated their whole evil empire. It’ll continue, I’m sure, for a little while. The war itself is going unbelievably. It’s as good as it can be,” Trump asserted.
The President provided a detailed list of the strategic military gains achieved by American forces, stating that the offensive had effectively dismantled Iran’s maritime and aerial capabilities.
“We’ve wiped out their (Iranian) navy, 44 ships. We’ve wiped out their air force, every plane. We’ve wiped out most of their missiles,” he noted.
The President addressed reports concerning the bombing of an elementary girls’ school in Iran. He categorically dismissed allegations of American responsibility, instead attributing the incident to the failure of Iranian hardware and the “inaccuracy” of their military assets.
“No, I don’t believe so. Based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran. We think it was done by Iran because they’re very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever. It was done by Iran,” Trump said.
The President also highlighted the extensive damage dealt to the industrial infrastructure supporting the Iranian military.
West Asia tensions
These developments are the result of a joint US-Israel military operation on 28 February, which led to the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several other officials.
In the aftermath of that strike, Tehran initiated a major retaliatory campaign, launching drones and ballistic missiles at US assets and regional partners, including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
This escalation has notably increased the danger to both local civilians and the expatriate population across West Asia.
(with ANI inputs)
