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  • 6/17/2025
What would be used to penetrate Iran's top-secret nuclear location?Israel-Iran analysis

Iran's secretive Fordow uranium enrichment plant is buried deep beneath a mountain, its vital centrifuges protected by tons upon tons of rock.

Israel has made no secret of its wish to destroy Iran's nuclear programme, but the only bomb believed to be powerful enough to penetrate the Fordow facility is an American "bunker buster" bomb that the Israelis do not have - yet.

Sky's Dominic Waghorn has this analysis.

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Transcript
00:00If the United States is to join in with this war, then there's a fair bet it will involve
00:05the Fordow nuclear facility. It is Iran's most heavily protected nuclear location,
00:1120 miles northeast of the holy city of Qom. It's an obvious and important target for Israel's
00:16attacks, although observers say there are no visible signs of damage there so far.
00:21It's a top-secret hideaway and it's in remote terrain. The main part of the facility is built
00:26into a mountain with tunnels leading deep underground. There are few signs of activity
00:31above ground, with one support building and a fortified secure perimeter. The main enrichment
00:37halls are buried deep below the surface, too deep for any Israeli bombs to penetrate.
00:42The nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, recently suggested Iran has increased production of enriched uranium
00:47to 60% at Fordow. The more enriched uranium they have, the more likely that Iran will be able to
00:52produce a nuclear weapon. So if their own aerial bombs won't be enough to totally destroy Fordow,
00:58what other options do the Israelis have? The cleanest option would be to ask the United
01:03States Air Force to finish the job there. Another option would be to negotiate with the Iranians
01:09about the future of Fordow. Maybe in exchange for a ceasefire agreement, the Iranians would agree
01:14to disable it themselves. The Israelis could also send in a commando team.
01:20If the United States was to help Israel bomb Fordow, what would they be using? The answer
01:25is almost certainly the MOP, the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, officially known as the GBU-57.
01:31It's America's largest non-nuclear bomb, a bunker buster designed to blast its way through layers
01:37of rock and reinforce concrete to obliterate its target. The bomb itself weighs 13 tons, and each
01:44one could penetrate up to 60 metres below the surface. Because of its size, it can only be
01:49carried by America's B-2 stealth bombers. So if we see more B-2s heading towards the region,
01:54that may be a sign that something is about to happen. There are also reports of a lot of US
01:59aircraft on the move. F-15 and F-16 fighter jets and their refuelling planes heading from bases
02:05in Europe towards the Middle East. Is President Trump preparing for this conflict to widen,
02:11or is he using military might to force Iranians to accept peace on his terms and promise never
02:17again to build the bomb? Because experts say whatever Israel does to Fordow, destroying
02:22it would only set Iran's nuclear ambitions back by five years or perhaps a few more. Ending
02:27its nuclear plans for good would require defeat on crushing terms dictated by America and Israel,
02:34or the end of the regime, or perhaps even both.
02:41Waiting for the immunity here in U together.
02:44Okay, let's wait. Come on and say something about the

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