Axios: Israel may deploy commandos to target Iran’s fortified nuclear plant

Israel is weighing launching a high-risk special forces operation against Iran’s heavily fortified nuclear facility at Fordow if the United States decides not to carry out an airstrike, according to a report by Axios.

Israeli officials believe President Donald Trump is leaning toward authorising a strike on the Fordow site, which is located deep within a mountain to shield it from aerial bombardment. However, they also insist that even without American involvement, Israel is capable of inflicting serious damage on the underground uranium enrichment plant.

The possibility of such an operation was underscored by recent public remarks from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter.

Both hinted that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have contingency plans that go beyond conventional airstrikes, with Axios identifying one such option as a special forces raid.

This would not be the first time Israeli commandos have targeted underground military infrastructure. In September 2024, Israeli special units reportedly conducted a covert mission in Syria, where they infiltrated and destroyed an underground missile production facility by placing and detonating explosives. That mission, while smaller in scale, is seen as a precedent for more ambitious operations.

Now, in the context of a broader military campaign that has seen Israel take full control of Iranian airspace and deliver heavy blows to Iran’s armed forces, a special forces mission at Fordow is being viewed in military circles as a more feasible and less extreme option than it might have been earlier.

According to a US official quoted by Axios, Israeli officials have already conveyed to the Trump administration that while air-dropped bombs might struggle to breach the depth of Fordow’s mountain fortifications, Israeli forces “can do it with men on the ground.”

The Fordow facility has long been a concern for Western powers, as its capacity to enrich uranium in a secure, subterranean environment raises fears about Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons beyond international oversight.

By Tamilla Hasanova