US strikes Iranian nuclear facilities

The US struck three Iranian nuclear facilities, including the hardened Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant that is built inside of a mountain, on June 21. The US executed the strike just two days after President Donald Trump said he would make a decision within two weeks about whether the US would or would not target Iran’s nuclear facilities.

US warplanes, likely B-2 Spirit bombers, struck “three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump posted on Truth Social and X.

“All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors,” Trump stated. “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!” he added.

Since the Israelis first attacked Iran’s nuclear program in the early morning hours of June 12, analysts have theorized that US military involvement would be needed to finish off the challenging targets, particularly the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant. The Fordow complex, officially known as the Shahid Ali Mohammadi Nuclear Facility, is a hardened site built deep inside a mountain that is heavily protected by the Iranian military. Parts of the facility are estimated to be buried under concrete more than 100 meters underground. It took the Iranians over seven years to build the site.

The US Air Force is believed to be the only service with a weapon that can penetrate the fortified Fordow complex: the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). It is a 30,000-pound “bunker-buster” bomb that can only be delivered by the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.

In addition to Fordow, the Esfahan Nuclear Technology Center and the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant were also struck. At Esfahan, the Iranian regime runs a uranium conversion facility and manufactures fuel plates. At Natanz, Iran enriches uranium with centrifuges.

No information has been released on the status of the targets, and it is unclear if the US Air Force will launch a second round of strikes. The Iranian nuclear program has been hit hard since Israel began attacks last week. In addition to nuclear facilities that have been struck by the Israelis and the US, Israel’s military has killed several high-level Iranian scientists and Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp and military commanders involved in the nuclear and missile programs.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD’s Long War Journal.