GBU-57A/B myth vs reality: Trump unsure about bunker busters blasting Iran's Fordow nuclear plant; Israel's gamble to drag US into war may fail
Tensions rise as Israel urges the US to use a powerful bomb against Iran's nuclear site. Donald Trump is hesitant, fearing wider conflict. Israel says Iran is enriching uranium for weapons. Fordow, the Iranian nuclear site, is heavily fortified. Israel lacks the means to strike it alone. The US worries about escalating the conflict. The situation threatens regional stability.
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Why Israel cannot act alone
The bunker buster: capabilities and technical limits
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Trump's reluctance and escalation risks
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As the Israel-Iran conflict escalates, US President Donald Trump faces mounting pressure from Israeli leaders to deploy America's most formidable non-nuclear weapon - the 30,000-pound GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) - against Iran's Fordow uranium enrichment facility. Yet, Trump's skepticism about the bomb's real-world effectiveness and concerns over regional escalation have left the U.S. response in limbo, highlighting the limits of even the world's most advanced bunker-busting technology.Fordow, Iran's primary uranium enrichment site , is buried deep within a mountain near Qom, approximately 80 meters below ground and encased in layers of reinforced concrete and rock.Israel's arsenal lacks both the specialized munitions and the delivery platforms required to penetrate such formidable defenses. Specifically, Israel does not possess the B-2 Spirit stealth bombers needed to deploy the MOP, nor does it have any indigenous bomb capable of breaching Fordow's fortifications.Israeli intelligence has sounded the alarm, warning that Iran has resumed weapons-grade uranium enrichment and accelerated its 'weapons group' activities. The survival of Fordow, they argue, could allow Iran to develop nuclear warheads within months. This urgency has driven Israeli President Isaac Herzog to publicly urge international action, declaring, 'We must put an end to (Iran's) empire of terror… They need to cease being a rogue state.'The GBU-57A/B MOP is the apex of deep-penetration bomb design. Weighing nearly 14,000 kilograms (30,000 pounds) and measuring 6.2 meters (20.5 feet) in length, the bomb carries a warhead of over 2,400 kilograms (5,342 pounds) of high-performance explosives, encased in a dense steel alloy designed to withstand the stresses of deep impact.The MOP is guided by an advanced GPS/INS navigation system, ensuring precision within meters of its intended target. Its Large Penetrator Smart Fuze (LPSF) allows for depth-triggered detonation, with void-sensing technology to maximize destructive effect inside underground bunkers. The bomb's penetration capacity is formidable: it can breach up to 60 meters of 5,000 PSI reinforced concrete, 40 meters of hard rock, or 8 meters of 10,000 PSI ultra-reinforced concrete.Despite these specifications, the bomb's actual performance against a site like Fordow remains unproven. While the MOP has undergone successful flight and penetration tests in the U.S., it has never been used in combat, and its ability to destroy Fordow's most critical chambers is still theoretical.President Trump's hesitation is rooted in three main concerns.Trump's central question is whether the MOP can actually destroy Iran's most heavily fortified nuclear facility. Pentagon officials assure him of the bomb's capabilities, but the lack of combat data leaves room for doubt.Trump is wary that striking Fordow could entangle the U.S. in a prolonged Middle Eastern war, especially given Iran's threats of massive retaliation and the ongoing missile exchanges between Iran and Israel.'I have been asked about it by everybody but I haven't made a decision,' Trump stated, maintaining a posture of deliberate uncertainty.U.S. officials acknowledge Israel's request for a 'surgical strike' on Fordow but emphasize Trump's red line: 'The end game for us is simple: no nuke… if it's within reason.'The standoff is unfolding amid daily Iranian missile attacks on Israel since June 14, in retaliation for Israeli strikes that killed over 200 Iranians. Israel's initial offensive targeted Iran's air defenses and nuclear infrastructure, exploiting what intelligence officials described as a 'golden opportunity' amid Tehran's weakened proxy networks. The humanitarian toll is mounting, with at least 24 Israelis and over 250 Iranians killed so far.Israel's push for U.S. intervention hinges on convincing Trump that the MOP can decisively eliminate Fordow, a case he remains unconvinced of.As President Herzog put it, destroying Iran's nuclear sites is 'a bigger issue that the world should understand.'With Tehran vowing retaliation for any direct U.S. action, the stakes extend far beyond Fordow, threatening regional stability and global nonproliferation efforts.For now, Trump's hesitation underscores a pivotal truth: even the world's most powerful conventional bomb is useless without unambiguous confidence in its mission and a clear strategy for what comes after.
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First Post
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Trump's change of heart After weeks of loudly boasting of brokering peace between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan , Trump did a 180, crediting the two countries' leaders directly for ending the hostilities. In remarks to the media following his lunch with Pakistan's Army Chief General Asim Munir, Trump praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and General Munir as 'very smart people', adding that they chose not to turn the conflict into a 'nuclear war'. 'They were both here, but I was with Modi a few weeks ago. He was here actually, but now we speak to him. And I'm so happy that two smart people, plus you know, people on their staff too, but two smart people, two very smart people decided not to keep going with that war. That could have been a nuclear war. Those are two nuclear powers, big ones, big, big nuclear powers, and they decided that,' Trump was quoted as saying. 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New Indian Express
19 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
'Saw missiles, heard bombs, Tehran in ruins': Indian students recall Iran-Israel conflict horror
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Mint
20 minutes ago
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