United States President Donald Trump on Sunday (IST) announced attacks on three major Iranian nuclear sites. The bombing of nuclear sites by the US comes just two days after Trump said he would decide “within two weeks” on the Israel-Iran conflict. Trump had been warning Iran since the day Israel launched strikes in Tehran, demanding full surrender from the Ali Khamenei-led government. While addressing the nation, President Trump said, “Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”
As the US military targeted nuclear sites, which lie at the heart of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed their strength and President Trump’s resolution.
What Made These Iranian Facilities Top Targets?
The three nuclear sites bombarded by the US includes Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. These sites were central to Tehran’s nuclear programme. Natanz and Fordow, held importance as the only two nuclear facilities in which Iran had been enriching uranium at 60 percent levels. Another facility, Isfahan, was used by Iran to convert uranium. A report by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2022, stated that 90 percent of Iran’s highly enriched uranium was stored in Isfahan facility.
The Natanz nuclear facility is one of Iran’s primary sites for uranium enrichment. It lies about 250 kilometers south of Tehran, Iran’s capital. It is considered country’s largest uranium enrichment facility. It had been a focal point of international concern over Iran’s nuclear program due to its ability of producing low- and high-enriched uranium.
The facility has six above-ground buildings and three underground structures. According to the non-profit Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), two of the structures could hold 50,000 centrifuges (machines that enrich uranium).
Fordow is considered one of Iran’s secretive nuclear facilities and much is not known about it. It is located close to the city of Qom and built deep underground inside a mountain. Fordow is a Uranium enrichment facility. Notably, Iran had secretly began constructing Fordow in 2006–2007 andacknowledged it only in 2009, under pressure.
The main halls are estimated to be 80 to 90 meters beneath the ground. Its deep underground location kept it safe from the attacks as it could only be hit with a bomb that strikes deep.
Fordow facility requires an enormous level of penetration to be damaged or destroyed. Multiple sequential strikes can deepen the impact, potentially collapsing tunnels or critical infrastructure. Apart from GBU-57/B, no other conventional bomb matches this capability.
B-2 Bombers Used By The US Military
As of now, US is the only country with the kind of bomb that can strike deep. President Trump also confirmed that the US Air Force B-2 bombers were used in the strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Notably, the B-2 Spirit is the US Air Force top-of-the-line bomber and several US B-2 stealth bombers had taken off from the Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri on Friday night. It indicated the possibility of the US launching attacks.
Isfahan, another major nuclear facility, is known as the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF), located in Central Iran. It is solely used for nuclear fuel processing and conversion. The facility houses Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF), Fuel Manufacturing Plant (FMP), Mini-reactors and research labs, Radiochemistry and metallurgy labs and Hot cells for handling irradiated materials. Iran had built this facility with China’s support, it was opened in 1984. The site was not involved in uranium enriching, rather prepared feedstock (UF₆) for centrifuge sites like Natanz and Fordow. Isfahan had been considered as a centre of Iran’s nuclear program.
Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had struck Isfahan and released a footage showing how it looks following the latest strike. It called Isfahan as the site where reconversion of enriched uranium takes place.
“Overnight, we deepened the strike on the nuclear site in Isfahan and in western Iran. On the screen, you can see the site where reconversion of enriched uranium takes place. This is the stage following enrichment in the process of developing a nuclear weapon. We had already… pic.twitter.com/UbWO3M8PBV
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 21, 2025
While there are six nuclear facilities in Iran, the three that the US has destroyed were a critical part of the Tehran’s nuclear program.
While Trump asserted that Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted an official saying, “There are no materials in these three nuclear sites that cause radiation.”
This indicates the possibility that Iranian authorities may have removed enriched uranium from the facilities before they were bombed.
