Iran’s secretive nuclear site and the bomb that could destroy it

If the United States decides to support Israel more directly in its attack on Iran, an option would be to provide the “Bunker Buster” bombs deemed necessary to considerably damage the Fordo Nuclear fuel enrichment factory In central Iran, built deep in a mountain.

Such a bomb should be abandoned from an American plane. Israeli officials also suggested that there are other options to attack Fordo, in central Iran, while she seeks to destroy the country nuclear capacities.

But apart from a commando attack on the ground or a nuclear shot, the Bunker Buster bomb seems the most likely option.

Fordo, the underground nuclear site of Iran

Fordo is the second nuclear enrichment installation of Iran after Natanz, its main installation, which has already been targeted by Israeli air strikes.

Fordo is smaller than Natanz and is built on the side of a mountain near the city of Qom, about 95 kilometers southwest of Tehran. Construction would have started around 2006, and it became a first operational in 2009 – the same year, Tehran publicly recognized its existence.

In addition to being about 80 meters (260 feet) under the rock and the ground, the site would be protected by Iranian and Russian air -surface missile systems. These aerial defenses, however, have probably already been struck in the Israeli countryside.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the objective of attacking Iran was to eliminate his missile and nuclear program, which he described as a Existential threat to IsraelAnd that the officials said that Fordo was part of this plan.

What is the Bunker Buster bomb?

“Bunker Buster” is a wide term used to describe the bombs designed to penetrate deep under the surface before exploding. In this case, he refers to the last GBBU-57 A / B massive penetration bomb in the American Arsenal. The bomb of around 30,000 pounds (13,600 kilograms) is designed to attack the deeply buried and hardened bunkers and tunnels, according to the US Air Force.

In theory, the Bunker Buster could be abandoned by any bomber capable of bringing the weight, but for the moment, the United States has configured and programmed its B-2 spirits bomber to deliver the bomb, according to the US Air Force.

The B-2 is only controlled by the US Air Force and is produced by Northrop Grumman, which means that only the United States is able to bomb the Fordo site.

The question of whether the United States would get involved is another matter.

“I can do it, I may not do it,” American president Donald Trump said on Wednesday in an exchange with journalists in the White House. “I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.”

Trump added that it is not “too late” for Iran to abandon its nuclear program while it continues to weigh the direct participation of the United States in the military operations of Israel aimed at crushing Tehran nuclear program.