The U.S. launched strikes on several key Iranian nuclear facilities early Sunday, targeting sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. American pilots dropped 30,000-pound bombs on these underground uranium enrichment plants. Code-named “Operation Midnight Hammer,” the mission involved seven B-2 Spirit bombers carrying massive 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs known as Massive Ordinance Penetrators.
President Donald Trump announced the operation on Saturday evening, calling it a “spectacular military success.” U.S. officials claimed that the strikes severely damaged Iran’s nuclear program, with Trump stating that the attack “completely and totally obliterated” three nuclear enrichment sites. However, the question remains- is this claim of total destruction an exaggeration? Here’s a closer look at the satellite images and what experts have to say.
What The Western Media Says
While some damage to the nuclear sites is visible, certain parts appear to be untouched. There is still uncertainty about the extent of the impact on the underground nuclear facilities, making it difficult to assess the full scale of the strikes. According to Western media outlets like The New York Times and National Public Radio (NPR), independent experts say Iran’s long-running nuclear program is far from destroyed.
NPR reported that- “At the end of the day, there are some really important things that haven’t been hit,” says Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, who tracks Iran’s nuclear facilities. “If this ends here, it’s a really incomplete strike.” The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant is located south of Tehran and is built into the side of a mountain. After the U.S. strike, satellite images of the plant showed craters, tunnel entrances that had collapsed, and holes on top of the mountain ridge, according to Bloomberg.
NPR quoted Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey- “At the end of the day, there are some really important things that haven’t been hit,” says Lewis, who tracks Iran’s nuclear facilities. “If this ends here, it’s a really incomplete strike.” In particular, Lewis says the strike doesn’t seem to have touched Iran’s stocks of highly enriched uranium.
Extensive Destruction
However, according to the satellite images, the most “extensively damaged” nuclear site was the Esfahan Nuclear Technology and Research Centre. The nuclear plant is located around 450 km from Tehran. U.S. Air Force General Dan Caine has stated that a full assessment of the damage caused by the strikes will take time. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is also continuing its efforts to evaluate the extent of the destruction. Both parties are still working to determine the complete impact on the targeted sites.
Hit Ventilation Shafts?
According to The New York Times, analysis of satellite imagery shows that the United States targeted Fordow, Iran’s underground nuclear enrichment facility, at the precise locations of two structures that experts said might be ventilation shafts. The reports say that the U.S. attack appears to have targeted the area around the two structures, quoting Joseph Rodgers “I would assume the U.S. has active intelligence that seems to indicate that those shafts were structural weaknesses.”Joseph Rodgers is a nuclear expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a research institute in Washington. It reported- Satellite imagery taken by Maxar Technologies on Sunday showed debris scattered around the large complex, but the site’s support buildings appeared intact. Rodgers added, “The key target was really how to destroy the structure underground,” and that the attack was most likely not trying to take the facility offline by targeting other support infrastructure.
“Hitting a ventilation shaft would make sense, because the hole for air already penetrates the thick rock, interrupting its integrity,” The publication quoted Mark Fitzpatrick, a nuclear expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Iran Moved Out 400 kilograms of uranium
Two Iranian officials told The New York Times that Iran may have moved 400 kilograms of uranium out of the facility in anticipation of the U.S. strikes. Former President Donald Trump had been issuing warnings to Iran since the beginning of the Israel-Iran conflict and had mentioned that he was considering sending troops. Reports suggest that uranium enriched to 60 per cent, just below the 90 per cent required for a nuclear bomb, was likely removed from the Fordow plant before the attack.
