The Fordo uranium enrichment plant,located south of Tehran,is reportedly inaccessible too Israeli bombs due to its construction,which includes being buried several tens of meters deep. This site was secretly built by Iran.

Amidst escalating tensions and reported attacks on other Iranian nuclear sites by Israel on Friday June 13, the Uranium enrichment factory of Fordo remains a key point of resistance. The aim of the attacks is allegedly to prevent Iran from developing an atomic bomb.

While the Natanz and Ispahan sites have sustained damage, “no damage has been found” at Fordo, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (AIEA). The Fordo facility was specifically targeted by israel.

Bruno Tiltrais, deputy director of the Foundation for Strategic Research, stated on BFMTV that the factory was created “in secret” in the 2000s by Iran to “protect itself from possible American or Israeli attacks”.

The construction of the facility was revealed at the IAEA in September 2009,leading to a crisis with the major powers of the Security Council. Initially presented by Tehran as a “rescue site” in a mountainous area near a military base to protect itself from an air attack, it was later revealed to be a high-rate uranium enrichment plant capable of accommodating some 3,000 centrifuges.

Required american assistance

Bruno tiltrais notes that because the plant is built a hundred meters deep under the ground, “it cannot be destroyed by the air by Israeli aviation.”

“Israel will not be able to say that it has caused irreparable damage making the Iranian nuclaire program back several years if it does not harm this installation,”

David Albright, an expert at the Institut for Science and International Security, told Le Guardian that if the site remains intact and Iran has access to uranium enriched up to 60%, it would be theoretically possible to produce nuclear weapons in just a few weeks.

Kelsey Davenport, an expert from arms Control Association, confirms that Israel lacks the powerful bombs required “to destroy the fortified installations of Natanz and Fordo”, which are buried at great depths. she suggests that “American military assistance” would be necessary. However, the United States is reportedly hesitant to intervene in the conflict between its ally and Iran.

Bruno Tirtrais stated, “I am not even sure that the Americans, if they entered the dance, would have the capacity with thier famous penetrating bomb to do a lot of trouble in this installation.”

A 13 -ton warhead

The GBU-57,a 13-ton and six-meter-long warhead capable of sinking deep into rock and concrete,is the American bomb that could potentially alter the situation. The US military notes that the GBU-57 “was designed to penetrate up to 200 feet (61 meters) underground before exploding.”

Unlike many missiles or bombs that detonate upon impact, these anti-bunker warheads first sink into the soil before detonating once the underground installation is reached.

Because only American B-2 planes are capable of dropping them, American intervention is required for the use of these bombs.As of now, the United States has not announced any intervention. At the end of a Security Council meeting, Donald Trump called for Iran to an “unconditional capitulation” and assured that the United states could easily kill The Iranian Supreme Guide but that they did not intend to do it “for the moment”.