Discussions between Washington and Jerusalem about deploying special forces to seize Iran’s nuclear material emerged as the conflict intensified, with widening airstrikes, drone attacks across Gulf states and Iran moving toward selecting a new supreme leader.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
U.S. and Israeli officials have discussed the possibility of deploying special operations forces into Iran to secure the country’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium at a later stage of the conflict, according to a report by Axios.
The report, citing four individuals familiar with the discussions, said the option has been examined as military operations between Iran and a U.S.-Israeli coalition continue to escalate. Reuters said it could not independently verify the report.
The potential plan surfaced as Israeli forces expanded overnight strikes against Iranian targets, including fuel storage sites near Tehran, in what appeared to be a broader phase of the military campaign.
Video recorded in Iran’s capital showed dense black smoke hanging over parts of the city early Sunday following explosions at oil facilities that illuminated the skyline overnight.
An Israeli source said the targeted fuel reserves were used to support weapons production and the operation of military bases.
Iran’s national oil distribution company confirmed that four employees were killed in the strikes and said temporary fuel rationing may be introduced in some areas “to ensure fair and sustainable supplies.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated the attacks would continue and signaled that Iran’s governing leadership remained a target of the campaign.
“We have an organized plan with many surprises to destabilize the regime and enable change,” Netanyahu said in a video statement. “We have many more targets.”
The expanding conflict has drawn in multiple countries across the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain all reported Iranian drone strikes within their territories between Saturday and early Sunday.
In Kuwait, a government office building was engulfed in flames following an attack, and the country’s interior ministry said two officers were killed “while performing duties.”
Bahrain reported that one drone strike caused material damage to a desalination plant, though officials said water supplies were not interrupted.
The attack marked the first reported instance during the current conflict in which a desalination facility in an Arab Gulf state was targeted.
Iranian authorities said a separate U.S. strike earlier in the fighting hit a freshwater desalination facility on Iran’s Qeshm Island, disrupting water supplies to about 30 villages.
Saudi officials have warned Tehran that continued attacks targeting the kingdom or its energy infrastructure could trigger a direct response, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, issued an apology to neighboring Gulf countries for Iranian strikes aimed at U.S. military bases located in those states.
The statement generated criticism from some political hardliners within Iran, prompting the president’s office to reiterate that Iranian forces would continue responding to attacks launched from American facilities.
Meanwhile, political developments inside Iran indicate the country could soon appoint a new supreme leader.
Iranian media reported that the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for selecting the nation’s highest authority, could meet as soon as Sunday to name a successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed earlier in the conflict.
Assembly member Ayatollah Mohammadmehdi Mirbaqeri said discussions among clerics had moved toward agreement.
“A majority consensus over the successor has more or less been reached,” Mirbaqeri said, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency.
Another member of the council, Ayatollah Mohsen Heidari Alekasir, said a candidate had been selected according to guidance from Khamenei that the next leader should be someone “hated by the enemy.”
Iranian sources previously indicated that Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s son, has emerged as the leading candidate. Mojtaba Khamenei built influence through connections to Iran’s security services and economic institutions.
His appointment would likely signal the continued dominance of Iran’s hardline faction.
The conflict has also spread into neighboring Lebanon. The Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched rockets and drones toward Israeli territory during the past week.
Israel responded with a strike early Sunday on a hotel building in central Beirut that Israeli officials said was housing Iranian commanders operating in the Lebanese capital.
At least four people were killed in the strike, which marked the first Israeli attack in central Beirut during the current war and raised concerns that the conflict could expand into additional areas of the region.
President Donald Trump defended the U.S. military operation, describing it as the largest American campaign in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Trump said the action was justified because Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States and was approaching the capability to produce a nuclear weapon.
Asked Saturday about the possibility of deploying ground forces to secure Iranian nuclear sites, Trump said such an operation could be considered later in the conflict.
“It’s something we could do later on,” he said.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said the U.S.-Israeli campaign has killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and injured thousands more.
Iranian attacks have killed 10 people in Israel. U.S. officials also reported that at least six American service members have died during the conflict.
Iran said Sunday that it had struck U.S. military bases in Kuwait.
With missile strikes, drone attacks and air campaigns now spanning several countries, officials across the region continue to warn that the conflict could widen further as military operations intensify.
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