If the U.S. decides to support Israel more directly in its attack on Iran, one option would be to provide the “bunker buster” bombs believed necessary to significantly damage the Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant in central Iran, built deep into a mountain.
Such a bomb would have to be dropped from an American aircraft. Israeli officials have also suggested there are other options for it to attack Fordo, in central Iran, as it seeks to destroy the country’s nuclear capabilities.
But aside from a commando attack on the ground or a nuclear strike, the bunker buster bomb seems the most likely option.
Fordo, Iran’s underground nuclear site
Fordo is Iran’s second nuclear enrichment facility after Natanz, its main facility, which has already been targeted by Israeli airstrikes.
Fordo is smaller than Natanz, and is built into the side of a mountain near the city of Qom, about 95 kilometres southwest of Tehran. Construction is believed to have started around 2006, and it became first operational in 2009 — the same year Tehran publicly acknowledged its existence.
In addition to being an estimated 80 metres (260 feet) under rock and soil, the site is reportedly protected by Iranian and Russian surface-to-air missile systems. Those air defences, however, likely have already been struck in the Israeli campaign.
Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the goal of attacking Iran was to eliminate its missile and nuclear program, which he described as an existential threat to Israel, and officials have said Fordo was part of that plan.
What is the bunker buster bomb?
“Bunker buster” is a broad term used to describe bombs that are designed to penetrate deep below the surface before exploding. In this case, it refers to the latest GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb in the American arsenal. The roughly 30,000-pound (13,600 kilogram) precision-guided bomb is designed to attack deeply buried and hardened bunkers and tunnels, according to the U.S. Air Force.
In theory, the bunker buster could be dropped by any bomber capable of carrying the weight, but at the moment the U.S. has only configured and programmed its B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to deliver the bomb, according to the U.S. Air Force.
The B-2 is only flown by the U.S. Air Force, and is produced by Northrop Grumman, meaning only the U.S. is capable of bombing the Fordo site.
Whether the U.S. would get involved is another matter.
“I may do it, I may not do it,” U.S. President Donald Trump said in an exchange with reporters at the White House on Wednesday. “I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.”
Trump added that it’s not “too late” for Iran to give up its nuclear program as he continues to weigh direct U.S. involvement in Israel’s military operations aimed at crushing Tehran’s nuclear program.