Why Israel Can't Destroy Iran's Fordow Nuclear Site

NDTV

17-06-2025

Over the last few days, Israel has targeted multiple nuclear facilities in Iran but at least one major site remains: the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, a heavily shielded base buried deep beneath a mountain. Built to withstand airstrikes, experts now say that only the United States has the firepower to destroy it.
While Israel has previously stunned Western intelligence with its covert operations and military reach, experts cited by The NY Post say there is no evidence it has weapons strong enough to breach Fordow's defences.
What Is Iran's Fordow?
The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant is one of Iran's most secretive and heavily protected nuclear facilities. Hidden beneath a mountain near the village of Fordow, over 30 km from Qom and 160 km from Tehran, the site was designed to resist airstrikes and foreign interference. The location was originally part of a missile base controlled by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Construction Of The Fordow Plant
Iran began constructing Fordow in the early 2000s under the clandestine "Amad Plan," which aimed to develop nuclear weapons. For years, its existence was hidden from global watchdogs. In 2009, Western intelligence agencies exposed the plant, which then led Iran to officially disclose it to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). At the time, the revelation raised serious global concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Why Is Fordow So Hard To Hit?
What makes Fordow so formidable is its depth. It lies between 80 and 300 feet underground. This puts it far beyond the reach of conventional bombs and even advanced Israeli munitions. The facility was originally built to hold about 3,000 IR-1 centrifuges, arranged in two separate sections. The base is now protected by surface-to-air missiles, including Russia's S-300 system, and has been reinforced to survive sustained bombardment.
"Tehran has made sure the facility can survive airstrike attacks, making Fordow a much harder target than the other facilities that have been hit through the years," said Nicholas Carl, a research manager at the American Enterprise Institute's Critical Threats Project, as per The NY Post.
Fordow's Role In Iran's Nuclear Programme
Under the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA), Fordow was to be repurposed for peaceful scientific use, like isotope production and enrichment activity was halted.
After the US withdrew from the agreement in 2018, Iran resumed enrichment at Fordow. As of 2025, roughly 2,000 centrifuges, including advanced IR-6 models, are operational at the site, enriching uranium up to 60 per cent purity, dangerously close to the 90 per cent threshold required for a nuclear weapon.
Fordow is now seen as Iran's last and most critical enrichment stronghold. According to experts, it produces an estimated 166 kg of 60 per cent enriched uranium every three months, enough, if further enriched, to potentially make up to four nuclear bombs. Despite repeated attacks on other Iranian nuclear sites, Fordow has remained untouched.
What Israel Said
Israeli officials consider the destruction of Fordow vital to stopping Iran's nuclear ambitions. "The entire operation... really has to be completed with the elimination of Fordow," Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter said recently, as per Axios.
Only the US is believed to have the weapons capable of taking it out. The GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a 15-ton "bunker buster," is likely the only bomb with the power to reach Fordow's core. Israel, so far, does not appear to possess such capabilities.
"Israel can damage key Iranian nuclear facilities, but Israel can't destroy hardened sites like Fordow without US military assistance," said Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association, as per The Washington Post.