Fact Check: Video doesn't show 'bunker-buster' bombs dropped on Iran's Fordo nuclear site
A video authentically showed the aftermath of 'bunker-busting' bombs dropped by U.S. military at the Fordo nuclear facility in Iran in late June 2025.
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Though it was unclear exactly what the footage showed, a version appeared on TikTok on June 16, 2025, days before the U.S. struck three nuclear sites, including Fordo, with "bunker-buster" bombs.
In late June 2025, days after the U.S. military struck three nuclear facilities in Iran, a video (archived) circulated online claiming to authentically show the aftermath of "bunker-busting" bombs at Fordo nuclear facility in the Middle Eastern country.
One version of the video on Facebook carried the caption: "One of the entry points of a US bunker-busting bomb during yesterday's attack on Iran's Fordow [sic] nuclear facility." The video showed several people descending into a large hole in the ground on a rubble-filled slope.
Fordo was one of the targets of the June 21, 2025, air strikes by American planes carrying GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs — colloquially known as "bunker-buster" bombs for their deep range.
The video also circulated on X (archived), YouTube (archived), Instagram (archived) and TikTok (archived), claiming to show the strike on Fordo.
However, the video was miscaptioned. Though it appeared to be authentic, meaning not generated by artificial intelligence, we found an upload (archived) dated days before June 21, 2025, meaning it could not have shown fresh aftermath caused by bombs dropped on that date.
We reached out to the TikTok user who posted the footage on June 16 to ask where it was recorded and what it showed and await a reply.
The extent of the damage to Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan, the three sites struck by American bombs on June 21, remained unknown at the time of this writing.
According to U.S. President Donald Trump on Truth Social on June 22, "Obliteration" was "an accurate term" for the damage done to the sites. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on June 22 the strikes "devastated" Iranian nuclear facilities.
However, a leaked report from the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon's intelligence arm, reported on by CNN found the bombs "did not destroy" the sites.
Trump responded to the leaked report by calling CNN "FAKE NEWS" and repeating that "THE NUCLEAR SITES IN IRAN ARE COMPLETELY DESTROYED!"
Satellite imagery of Fordo showed at least six impact craters at the site. Officials were still assessing how much damage the strikes caused to the largely underground facility at the time of this writing.
Béchard, Deni Ellis, and Dean Visser. "Why This Is the Only Bomb That Could Destroy Iran's Nuclear Bunker—Under 300 Feet of Rock." Scientific American, 18 June 2025, https://archive.ph/oETOA.
Cohen, Natasha Bertrand, Katie Bo Lillis, Zachary. "Exclusive: Early US Intel Assessment Suggests Strikes on Iran Did Not Destroy Nuclear Sites, Sources Say | CNN Politics." CNN, 24 June 2025, https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/24/politics/intel-assessment-us-strikes-iran-nuclear-sites.
Iran - Persian, Kurdish, Luri | Britannica. 25 June 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Iran/Languages.
Ismay, John. "A Timeline of the U.S. Attack in Iran." New York Times, 22 June 2025, https://archive.ph/B7lpw#selection-497.0-500.0.
@realDonaldTrump. "FAKE NEWS CNN, TOGETHER WITH THE FAILING NEW YORK TIMES, HAVE TEAMED UP IN AN ATTEMPT TO DEMEAN ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MILITARY STRIKES IN HISTORY." Trump's Truth, 24 June 2025, https://trumpstruth.org/statuses/31685.
---. "Monumental Damage Was Done to All Nuclear Sites in Iran, as Shown by Satellite Images." Trump's Truth, 22 June 2025, https://trumpstruth.org/statuses/31614.
---. "We Have Completed Our Very Successful Attack on the Three Nuclear Sites in Iran, Including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan." Trump's Truth, 21 June 2025, https://trumpstruth.org/statuses/31600.
RISING, DAVID. "What to Know about Bunker-Buster Bombs Unleashed on Iran's Fordo Nuclear Facility." AP News, 17 June 2025, https://apnews.com/article/bunker-buster-bomb-israel-iran-fordo-fordow-b2-nuclear-8a612cbf16aa0f99bd9992334ffc93d7.
"Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine Hold a Press Conference." Department of Defense, 22 June 2025, https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/4222543/secretary-of-defense-pete-hegseth-and-chairman-of-the-joint-chiefs-of-staff-gen/#:~:text=The%20order%20we%20received%20from%20our%20commander%20in%20chief%20was%20focused.%20It%20was%20powerful%2C%20and%20it%20was%20clear.%20We%20devastated%20the%20Iranian%20nuclear%20program.
"US Officially Enters War, Iran Vows: 'You Will Pay.'" Mehr News Agency, 23 June 2025, https://en.mehrnews.com/news/233527/US-officially-enters-war-Iran-vows-You-will-pay.
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