PDB Afternoon Bulletin | April 2nd, 2026: Inside The Pentagon Plan That Could Change The Iran War & Artemis II Takes Off
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
It's Thursday, the 2nd of April. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, in the category of keeping all options on the table, a new plan presented to President Trump could put American troops on the ground inside Iran to recover its enriched uranium stockpile. But the logistics alone could turn this into one of the most complex missions ever attempted. Ah, but not so fast. In the category of mixed messages, President Trump implied in his address to the nation last night that he's not interested in an operation to recover that uranium. I'll have the details. Later in the show, NASA takes its next leap for mankind, launching Artemis II on a mission that will send astronauts farther than any crew in the history of spaceflight.
But first, today's afternoon spotlight. Well, it looks like the war in Iran is going to continue, at least for a little while longer. During an address to The Nation last night, President Trump said the U.S. is now, quote, on track to complete its objectives, but warned the next two to three weeks could bring even more intense strikes if a deal with the Iranian regime isn't reached. He described Iran's military as largely dismantled while signaling that the mission is entering its final phase. But behind the scenes, the Pentagon continues to prepare for a variety of options. New reporting from The Washington Post reveals just how far those options go and how risky they could be. According to the report, the U.S.
military has presented the president with a plan to send American ground forces into Iran to seize its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Now, this proposal came at Trump's request.
What new Pentagon plan could change the Iran conflict?
He asked for the option. The Pentagon delivered. But to be clear, no decision has been made. And in fact, Trump walked back that option during his speech yesterday and in subsequent comments, implying that he wasn't worried about recovering the reportedly deeply buried enriched uranium. He noted that the U.S. will be always watching via satellites and can act if they see that the regime is attempting to recover it from underneath the mountain of rubble that it supposedly sits under. But let's take a look at the Pentagon's planning, because in this conflict, circumstances, decisions, and ground truth seem to change hourly. The target is roughly 1,000 pounds of uranium enriched to about 60%, just shy of weapons grade.
Most of that material is believed to be stored deep underground near Isfahan, with additional stockpiles at the Natanz nuclear facility and potentially other sites. And when we say underground, well, what we mean is some of these materials are buried more than 300 feet below the surface inside reinforced tunnel complexes. What the Pentagon has been drawing up as an option is potentially one of the most ambitious special operations missions ever attempted. The operation would likely begin with a broad suppression campaign. U.S. and allied forces targeting Iranian air defenses, those that still exist, missile systems and nearby military units to create a window for insertion. And then comes the ground phase.
Airborne troops, possibly elements of the 82nd Airborne, would be inserted deep inside Iranian territory. Their first job would be to secure the area and establish a defensive perimeter around the nuclear sites. And then the mission begins. Engineers would be brought in along with heavy excavation equipment, bulldozers, drilling rigs, the kind of gear that you'd expect on a major construction site, not a battlefield. In some scenarios, they would even need to build a temporary runway to allow cargo aircraft to land and take off. From there, teams would begin the slow, methodical process of digging down into the facility, cutting through concrete, rock, and protective shielding to reach the uranium.
Special operations units would move underground, working in protective gear, using sensors to detect radiation, and navigating an environment filled with unknowns.
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