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While President Donald Trump has argued that the military weekend strike against Iran “completely and completely wiped out” its ability to create nuclear weapons, there is still question whether the ground-based “bunkerbuster” bombs used to attack major Iranian enrichment sites are sufficient to stop the development of nuclear bombs.
A report released last week by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) explains that a massive weapon intruder of the GBU-57, or a special “bunkerbuster” known as the MOPS, which was used in Iran over the weekend of everyone talking about, may not be able to completely destroy Fordou’s Iranian nuclear facility. Fordou, whom Trump said “disappeared” after the strike, is considered to be the center of Iran’s nuclear weapons production capabilities.
Meanwhile, satellite imaging experts have told Reuters that confirmation of underground destruction cannot be determined by photographs alone, as hundreds of centrifuges at the facility are buried deep for accurate decisions.
I’m sure Iran’s nuclear program is “already” and “no longer” after we’ve hit a massive strike
In this photo, released by the US Air Force on May 2, 2023, the airline is seeing a GBU-57 or a massive weapon intruder bomb at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. (US Air Force via AP)
“I actually have a bit of a Variean view of things,” Andrea Sticker, deputy director of the Democratic Defense Foundation’s Non-Proliferation and Biological Fence Program, told Fox News Digital. “I think it’s likely that the centrifuge will be damaged or inoperable due to the large damage and shock waves that would have been sent by 12 large weapon intruders on the Fordow site.”
Stricker pointed out that centrifuges are “very delicate” and that the kind of shock waves coming from MOPS will at least be “from fees.” She also said that if any of the centrifuges survive the explosion, it is likely that Iranian authorities will not be able to access it for months.
“The underground facilities have difficult targets not only in terms of destruction, but also in terms of subsequent combat damage assessments,” added Wes Rumbaugh, a fellow for CSIS missile defense project. “The US and Israel will need to invest additional information resources to determine the true scope of damages from the US strike and the long-term impact on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.”
Satellite image shows the Fordow nuclear facility after a massive bomb strike
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows damage at the Fordow Redichment facility in Iran after the US attack on Sunday, June 22, 2025 (Maxar Technologies via the AP)
In addition to Fordow, the US uses MOP at an Iranian enrichment facility called Natanz, and according to Stricker, there are at least 1,000 centrifuges, along with ground-based enrichment plants and other labs that can make uranium metals.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the ground labs had previously been damaged by Israeli airstrikes, destroying the factory’s electrical infrastructure. Meanwhile, following the US decision to drop two mops on Natantz, satellite images show two craters reportedly having an underground enrichment facility at the site. However, it is not yet clear whether the US attack completely destroyed underground nuclear infrastructure.
In any case, the striker pointed out that serious damage to Iran’s Natanz facility would create a “bottleneck” in the weapon-grade uranium supply chain that will have a major impact on Iran’s nuclear weapons production capabilities.
Natantz’s nuclear site can be seen on the left side on May 20, 2025. On June 22nd, damage was observed in areas following the US airstrikes. (Planet Labs PBC)
The third site subject to US airstrikes was Iran’s Isfahan nuclear enrichment facility, but the MOP was not used on that site. Instead, the US used the Tomahawk Cruise Missile. Satellite images reportedly show that the ground facilities in Isfahan have been removed, but the extent of damage to the underground section of the site remains unknown.
Satellite image damage to US at Iran’s nuclear facility in Isfahan
The satellite image shows the Iranian Isfahan nuclear enrichment site following a US missile attack on the facility over the weekend. (Satellite Image ©2025 Maxar Technologies)
One of the biggest notable questions about the success of the US weekend strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities is whether the US can move nuclear material from locations targeted by domestic authorities before the US launches missiles. However, according to CSIS’s Bumbaugh, even if that is the case and Iran moves nuclear material, chaos would make it difficult for Iran to “sprint towards nuclear weapons.”
“The having to move these assets to new facilities will likely reduce Iran’s immediate ability to gallop towards nuclear weapons, but Iran is likely going quite a long way to hide their new location,” Bumbaugh said. “This movement of nuclear infrastructure or materials will make subsequent strikes difficult if intelligence cannot find all new hidden facilities.”
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“There are now many warnings about whether Iran can sprint to the bomb,” Stricker added. “Israel has done so much damage to its ability to create nuclear weapons. [and] Weaponization supply chain. Therefore, facilities, components [Iran] I think they need equipment and up to 14 nuclear scientists. If they wanted to quickly make bombs, I think they’re really thwarting. And I don’t think in the short term, they need to be overly worried when they can get there. ”
Fox News Digital contacted both the Pentagon and the Air Force to gather details about the success of its weekend strike in Iran, but no new information was collected.
An Air Force spokesman confirmed to Fox News Digital that in total, the US troops deployed 75 “precision guided weapons” targeting Iran over the weekend, including a 14 30,000 pound GBU-57 large weapon intruder.
IAEA Head Rafael Grossi appealed for immediate access to targeted Iranian nuclear sites to assess “significant” damages, according to the United Nations.
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