Vahid Online in English

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23 Jul 2026, 18:09

Host: Let's take a look at the power plants and locations that we might be able to target. Lucas, when you look at these as potential targets, where do you think we might strike first?

Lucas: Well, I don't know if it would be the first target or not, but the Damavand power plant supplies 40% of Tehran's electricity. The Bushehr nuclear power plant is also unlikely to be targeted. The Russians built it and still provide Iran with low-enriched uranium.

Host: Because, Lucas, we have to say that blowing up a nuclear power plant carries risks.
Lucas: Without a doubt. The South Pars gas field is also located on the largest natural gas field in the world. Israeli forces targeted it on March 18, at the start of the war, and Iran responded by attacking the Qatari section of this natural gas field.

Host: If we want to send a message in the same strait where they are attacking ships, isn't that a place we should look into?
Lucas: Yes; the only question is what Iran's response will be. We've seen that Iran retaliates. The natural gas facilities in Qatar and the oil fields in the UAE are the main concerns.

Host: So if we strike a power plant, they will respond in kind?
Lucas: Undoubtedly. The whole situation has been about this tit-for-tat. The notable thing about the Israelis is that they give disproportionate responses. One of the reasons Israel hasn't re-entered the war might be this. Iran hasn't attacked Israel since early June.

Host: What’s your assessment of the way we are currently operating? Do you think our response is disproportionate, or could it be more disproportionate?
Lucas: Our response is not disproportionate. The notable point is that U.S. forces attacked Iranian bases after an American base in Jordan was targeted; that attack killed three U.S. Army soldiers.

Host: So this is the power plant we might target. This is the most important case. Let's go to the other side of the map; here is "Pickaxe Mountain."
Lucas: U.S. intelligence assessment is that Iran likely moved some of its enriched uranium from Fordow to Pickaxe Mountain a few days before the "Midnight Hammer" operation a year ago. This site is much deeper than other nuclear facilities. Also, this is the Zagros Mountains, and we are facing very hard dolomite rock; therefore, an airstrike on it would be very difficult. This is one of the reasons why ground forces might be used. In fact, such a mission is for the U.S. Army's special operations forces; forces like Delta, SEAL Team Six, and the 24th Special Tactics Squadron of the Air Force. The risk is that no one knows exactly what the situation is inside there. There is no technical map of the inside of Pickaxe Mountain.

Host: That's right. That's what we are saying.
Lucas: The International Atomic Energy Agency has never had access to this site. So we don't know for sure whether centrifuges and highly enriched uranium have been moved to Pickaxe Mountain; however, this site is under observation. We heard President Trump say that he would soon target Pickaxe Mountain. We've seen B-1 bombers flying from Britain, and of course, B-2 bombers took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri for that round-the-world flight we saw in the "Midnight Hammer" operation.

Host: And Natanz has also been targeted, right?
Lucas: Natanz has been targeted. Fordow and Isfahan have also been targeted. These were the three locations that were targeted in the "Midnight Hammer" operation a year ago. However, Pickaxe Mountain has remained untouched so far.

[Sentences that are in the video but were not included here for brevity.]

Host: And as far as I know, this power plant [Damavand] supplies electricity for two million people.
Lucas: Yes.
Host: And it's located outside of Tehran.
Lucas: If the President wants to give a response that could be considered somewhat disproportionate, he would target the Damavand power plant. Again, I say, this power plant supplies 40% of Tehran's electricity, meaning the capital's electricity.

The only question is whether you want to cut off the electricity for millions of Iranians who sympathize with America's ideals?
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