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NBC News
an hour ago
- Politics
- NBC News
B-2 stealth bombers and 30,000-pound bunker busters: Why striking Iran's nuclear sites is such a difficult feat
Key points White House officials on Tuesday told NBC News that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a range of options including striking Iran directly. Destroying Iran's nuclear program — which Tehran asserts is for civilian energy purposes only — is no easy feat. Iran's most advanced and hardened nuclear facility, the Fordo plant in the country's northwest, is a fortress. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran is staring down the possibility of seeing its most important nuclear facilities hit by a 30,000-pound American bomb. White House officials on Tuesday told NBC News that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a range of options including striking Iran directly, after the American leader repeatedly asserted that his administration would not allow Iran to continue its nuclear program or reach bomb-making capability. Trump called for Iran's 'unconditional surrender' and wrote in a post on Truth Social that the U.S. has the ability to assassinate Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 'He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,' Trump wrote shortly after declaring 'total control' over Iranian airspace. Khamenei on Wednesday responded, threatening the U.S. with 'irreparable damage' if Washington follows through with a military strike. 'The damage they suffer will be far worse than anything Iran may face. If they enter militarily, they will face harm that they cannot recover from,' the Iranian leader said, according to NBC News reporting. The rapidly escalating conflict, triggered by Israel's surprise attacks on Iranian military and nuclear facilities on June 13, has sent oil prices surging and put a region on edge. Initially encouraging of diplomatic talks with Tehran, Trump's statements have become increasingly threatening as populations across the Middle East brace for what comes next. But destroying Iran's nuclear program — which Tehran asserts is for civilian energy purposes only — is no easy feat. Iran's most advanced and hardened nuclear facility, the Fordo plant in the country's northwest, is a fortress. Built inside a mountain some 300 feet underground and reinforced by layers of concrete, the plant — which is the most likely target of a potential American strike — is impenetrable by any bomb except the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). The U.S. is the only country in the world that has this 'bunker buster' weapon, as well as the only country with the aircraft capable of transporting and deploying it: the B2 Spirit stealth bomber. This is in part why Israel has been so eager for U.S. involvement in its offensive operations against Iran in addition to its defensive ones. But a strike in itself would not be a one-and-done job, military experts say. 'So you have two challenges. You would have to drop two of these penetrators at the exact same site' and likely need multiple bombing rounds, according to David Des Roches, a professor and senior military fellow at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. 'And then you would never be precisely sure how much of the facility you've damaged,' he added, meaning personnel may need to be deployed on the ground. 'This leads me to believe that for those facilities, Israel will ultimately gain control of the air and then land forces on the ground, force their way into the facility by detonating the doors, and then go and place explosive charges, exfiltrate whatever intelligence they can get, and just detonate it from the inside,' Des Roches told CNBC. Wider war for America? Iran's military capabilities have been severely degraded over the past few days by Israeli attacks, which have taken out substantial parts of its air defenses, ballistic missile batteries, command-and-control nodes and dozens of top commanders. Still, such a strike by the U.S. could trigger Iran to respond by striking at U.S. assets in the region like embassies and military bases. Trump has made clear that any attack on U.S. personnel would draw a fierce American response, which would then pull the world's most powerful military more deeply into a regional conflict. 'The Iranians have signaled that they are ready to attack U.S. bases in the region in the event of a U.S. attack on their domestic soil,' said Gregory Brew, senior analyst on Iran and energy at risk consultancy Eurasia Group, noting that American bases in Iraq are particularly vulnerable. 'There are risks in that environment that an Iranian retaliation causes U.S. casualties, kills U.S. servicemen, and potentially compels President Trump to expand the scope of U.S. action and order additional strikes on Iran and that, of course, would threaten general escalation and drag us into not just a single operation, but potentially a protracted air campaign.' Despite its enormous scale, the GPU-57 bunker buster would not create wide-scale damage beyond the area of the facility, Des Roches said. But it would have a 'profound psychological effect on the Iranians,' he added, who have already seen significant damage and radioactive contamination risk wrought to the infrastructure of several of their nuclear sites in other parts of the country. A further critical question remains whether the Trump administration will limit itself to targeting nuclear sites, or whether it will expand operations beyond that — something Israel's government has also been urging, as it conveys its desire to see regime change for its longtime adversary. 'I think the conflict will end when Israel is confident that Iran has lost, for a significant period of time, the ability to make a nuclear weapon, and that its defenses are weakened enough that Israel will be able to go back and effectively disrupt any further effort by Iran to make a nuclear weapon,' Des Roches argued. If Fordo remains operational, Israel's attacks would barely slow Iran's ability to build a bomb, nuclear analysts say. The decisions from the While House in the coming days will therefore prove decisive not only for the trajectory of Iran's nuclear program, but for the survivability of the Islamic Republic's regime as a whole. Ali Vaez, Iran project director at nonprofit Crisis Group, believes that 'Iran can survive and rebuild its nuclear program,' even without a diplomatic avenue for a deal with the U.S. 'The U.S. entering the war will close the door on diplomacy,' Vaez told CNBC. 'Trump might be able to destroy Fordow, but he won't be able to bomb away the knowledge that Iran has already acquired.'
CNBC
8 hours ago
- Politics
- CNBC
Stealth aircraft and 30,000-pound bombs: Why destroying Iran's nuclear program is a such a difficult feat
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran is staring down the possibility of seeing its most important nuclear facilities hit by a 30,000-pound American bomb. White House officials on Tuesday told NBC News that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a range of options including striking Iran directly, after the American leader repeatedly asserted that his administration would not allow Iran to continue its nuclear program or reach bomb-making capability. Trump called for Iran's "unconditional surrender" and wrote in a post on Truth Social that the U.S. has the ability to assassinate Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now," Trump wrote shortly after declaring "total control" over Iranian airspace. The rapidly escalating conflict, triggered by Israel's surprise attacks on Iranian military and nuclear facilities on June 13, has sent oil prices surging and put a region on edge. Initially encouraging of diplomatic talks with Tehran, Trump's statements have become increasingly threatening as populations across the Middle East brace for what comes next. But destroying Iran's nuclear program — which Tehran asserts is for civilian energy purposes only — is no easy feat. Iran's most advanced and hardened nuclear facility, the Fordow plant in the country's northwest, is a fortress. Built inside a mountain some 300 feet underground and reinforced by layers of concrete, the plant — which is the most likely target of a potential American strike — is impenetrable by any bomb except the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). The U.S. is the only country in the world that has this "bunker buster" weapon, as well as the only country with the aircraft capable of transporting and deploying it: the B2 Spirit stealth bomber. This is in part why Israel has been so eager for U.S. involvement in its offensive operations against Iran in addition to its defensive ones. But a strike in itself would not be a one-and-done job, military experts say. "So you have two challenges. You would have to drop two of these penetrators at the exact same site" and likely need multiple bombing rounds, according to David Des Roches, a professor and senior military fellow at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. "And then you would never be precisely sure how much of the facility you've damaged," he added, meaning personnel may need to be deployed on the ground. "This leads me to believe that for those facilities, Israel will ultimately gain control of the air and then land forces on the ground, force their way into the facility by detonating the doors, and then go and place explosive charges, exfiltrate whatever intelligence they can get, and just detonate it from the inside," Des Roches told CNBC. Iran's military capabilities have been severely degraded over the past few days by Israeli attacks, which have taken out substantial parts of its air defenses, ballistic missile batteries, command-and-control nodes, and dozens of top commanders. Still, such a strike by the U.S. could trigger Iran to respond by striking at U.S. assets in the region like embassies and military bases. Trump has made clear that any attack on U.S. personnel would draw a fierce American response, which would then pull the world's most powerful military more deeply into a regional conflict. "The Iranians have signaled that they are ready to attack U.S. bases in the region in the event of a U.S. attack on their domestic soil," said Gregory Brew, senior analyst on Iran and energy at risk consultancy Eurasia Group, noting that American bases in Iraq are particularly vulnerable. "There are risks in that environment that an Iranian retaliation causes U.S. casualties, kills U.S. servicemen, and potentially compels President Trump to expand the scope of U.S. action and order additional strikes on Iran and that, of course, would threaten general escalation and drag us into not just a single operation, but potentially a protracted air campaign." Despite its enormous scale, the GPU-57 bunker buster would not create wide-scale damage beyond the area of the facility, Des Roches said. But it would have a "profound psychological effect on the Iranians," he added, who have already seen significant damage and radioactive contamination risk wrought to the infrastructure of several of its nuclear sites in other parts of the country. A further critical question remains whether the Trump administration will limit itself to targeting nuclear sites, or whether it will expand operations beyond that — something Israel's government has also been urging, as it conveys its desire to see regime change for its longtime adversary. "I think the conflict will end when Israel is confident that Iran has lost, for a significant period of time, the ability to make a nuclear weapon, and that its defenses are weakened enough that Israel will be able to go back and effectively disrupt any further effort by Iran to make a nuclear weapon," Des Roches argued. If Fordow remains operational, Israel's attacks would barely slow Iran's ability to build a bomb, nuclear analysts say. The decisions from the While House in the coming days will therefore prove decisive not only for the trajectory of Iran's nuclear program, but for the survivability of the Islamic Republic's regime as a whole. Ali Vaez, Iran project director at non-profit Crisis Group, believes that "Iran can survive and rebuild its nuclear program," even without a diplomatic avenue for a deal with the U.S. "The U.S. entering the war will close the door on diplomacy," Vaez told CNBC. "Trump might be able to destroy Fordow, but he won't be able to bomb away the knowledge that Iran has already acquired."
Times
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Times
How US military could destroy Iran's Fordow nuclear site
President Trump will have one mission on his mind if he decides to join the war against Iran — destroying Fordow, its most heavily fortified nuclear site. Buried deep beneath a mountain, only the Americans have the weapon capable of annihilating it. The 13.6-tonne class GBU-57/B, otherwise known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb (Mop), has a thick steel outer casing that can penetrate fortifications up to 60m below ground. It is delivered by the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, the only aircraft in the US air force inventory that is certified to carry the 'bunker-buster' bomb, which has never been fired in anger. Without the bomb and the aircraft, Israel can inflict substantial damage on the Fordow uranium enrichment plant in central Iran — and might even render it inoperable by blocking entry points to the mountain — but it cannot destroy the facility, experts believe. Israel has GBU-28 bunker-busters that can penetrate 'only' 6m of concrete.
Washington Post
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
What is the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, the U.S. bunker-busting bomb?
In the event the United States enters the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, a likely focus will be on degrading or destroying Tehran's underground facilities that enrich nuclear material. That task would most likely fall to a small number of Air Force strategic bombers that are capable of delivering 30,000-pound, precision-guided bombs designed to destroy subterranean targets. This bomb, the GBU-57, is better known as a 'bunker buster' or the Massive Ordnance Penetrator. It's in the name. The MOP is designed for deeply buried and fortified facilities, such as bunkers and tunnels. Its design, sheer weight and steel alloy construction allow it to burrow underground and then explode, according to the Air Force. Though the heaviest conventional weapon in the U.S. arsenal, it is not designed to saturate explosives over a wide area. Commanders rely on its GPS-guided precision to hit specific, well-defended targets to destroy what ordinary bombs cannot reach. There are no public reports of the MOP being used in combat, experts have said. Defense officials have said the MOP is capable of penetrating up to 200 feet. But it is likely more capable now after further development over the past two decades, said Trevor Ball, a former Army explosive ordnance disposal technician. While the Israelis have relied on U.S. munitions for its devastating air war in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, its fighter jets cannot carry MOPs. The U.S. B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is the only Air Force aircraft that can deploy the MOP, the service has said. There are 19 operational B-2s, according to the Air Force. Traveling at subsonic speeds, but capable of midair refueling, the B-2 can fly an extraordinary distance. During the Kosovo war in the late 1990s, B-2 pilots flew round trip from their home station at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to strike targets. In 2017, a pair of B-2s flew 34 hours to hit Islamic State camps in Libya. Recent upgrades to the MOP include resolving an undescribed 'integration issue' with the B-2, the Air Force said last year. The service also said it is testing technology that can help destroy targets where intelligence about substructures may be limited. A smart fuse on the MOP can detect voids on its path downward — such as rooms and floors — and explode at an optimal point, Ball said. That would be an important capability if commanders decided they needed to strike the same deep target multiple times. It is unclear whether that technology has been put into operational use. Iran's most deeply buried nuclear enrichment site is Fordow, in the desert southwest of Tehran. The facility is fully underground, carved into a mountainside. U.N. inspectors who viewed the site noted tunnels with thick walls and blastproof doors, with some bunkers protected by up to 300 feet of rock, The Post reported in 2012. Fordow is ostensibly designed to produce uranium enriched to 20 percent purity. But an IAEA inspection report on May 31 found that Iran had significantly increased its production there of 60 percent enriched uranium, approaching the 90 percent level needed to fuel a nuclear weapon. Experts warn that even destroying the uranium-enriching centrifuges deep underground at Fordow would not necessarily mean the end of Iran's nuclear program. There may be enrichment sites or caches of nuclear fuel that U.N. inspectors are unaware of, said Richard Nephew, a lead U.S. negotiator with Iran under the Obama administration and now a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 'Even if Fordow was evaporated tomorrow, we would still have massive concerns,' Nephew said. Iran's nuclear facilities were not irreversibly damaged in the first couple waves of Israeli attacks, based on statements from both countries as well as videos and imagery of the damaged sites, The Washington Post reported. Israel appeared to have attacked near Fordow, but did not hit the underground facility itself. Strikes at Natanz, Iran's other main enrichment site, destroyed several facilities and damaged the electrical system, according to the IAEA and nonproliferation experts. Iran's only above-ground enrichment site, part of a larger complex at Natanz known as the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant, was destroyed, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said Monday. Analysts viewing satellite imagery had originally said the underground enrichment machinery at Natanz was unscathed. But the IAEA said in a post Tuesday on X that its analyses 'indicate direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls at Natanz.' A uranium metal production facility in Isfahan, a military complex in Parchin and the Arak heavy water reactor southwest of Tehran and the Bushehr nuclear power plant are other nuclear sites that were hit, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Grossi confirmed the facility at Isfahan was hit, but says Bushehr was not targeted or affected.
