Trump
caution on Iran strike linked to doubts over ‘bunker buster’ bomb, officials
say
Exclusive:
The likelihood of a successful US strike on the Iranian nuclear facility buried
deep underground at Fordow is a topic of deep contention, defense officials say
Hugo Lowell
in Washington
Thu 19 Jun
2025 04.23 BST
Donald Trump
has suggested to defense officials it would make sense for the US to launch
strikes against Iran only if the so-called “bunker buster” bomb was guaranteed
to destroy the critical uranium enrichment facility at Fordow, according to
people familiar with the deliberations.
Trump was
told that dropping the GBU-57s, a 13.6-tonne (30,000lb) bomb would effectively
eliminate Fordow but he does not appear to be fully convinced, the people said,
and has held off authorizing strikes as he also awaits the possibility that the
threat of US involvement would lead Iran to talks.
The
effectiveness of GBU-57s has been a topic of deep contention at the Pentagon
since the start of Trump’s term, according to two defense officials who were
briefed that perhaps only a tactical nuclear weapon could be capable of
destroying Fordow because of how deeply it is buried.
Trump is not
considering using a tactical nuclear weapon on Fordow and the possibility was
not briefed by defense secretary Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the joint
chiefs of staff Gen Dan Caine in meetings in the White House situation room,
two people familiar with the matter said.
But the
defense officials who received the briefing were told that using conventional
bombs, even as part of a wider strike package of several GBU-57s, would not
penetrate deep enough underground and that it would only do enough damage to
collapse tunnels and bury it under rubble.
Those in the
briefing heard that completely destroying Fordow, which Israeli intelligence
estimates to go down as far as 300ft (90 metres), would require the US to
soften the ground with conventional bombs and then ultimately drop a tactical
nuclear bomb from a B2 bomber to wipe out the entire facility, a scenario Trump
is not considering.
The
assessments were made by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), a
component of the defense department that tested the GBU-57, as it reviewed the
limitations of US military ordinance against a number of underground
facilities.
The
situation underscores the complex nature of such a strike and what success
would entail: dropping GBU-57s would likely set back Iran’s ability to obtain
weapons-grade uranium for up to a few years, but not end the programme
completely.
Spokespeople
for the White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests
for comment.
Taking
Fordow offline – either diplomatically or militarily – is seen as central to
prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons after the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) found the site had enriched uranium to 83.7% – close to
the 90% needed for nuclear weapons.
Any effort
to destroy Fordow, would require US involvement because Israel does not possess
the ordnance to strike a facility that deep or the planes to carry them.
The
difficulty with using the GBU-57 to target Fordow, according to the two
officials familiar with the DTRA briefing, lies in part with the
characteristics of the facility which is buried inside a mountain – and the
fact that the bomb has never been used in a comparable situation before.
“It would
not be a one and done,” a former Dtra deputy director, retired Maj Gen Randy
Manner, said of the GBU-57’s limitations, adding that Fordow could be quickly
rebuilt. “It might set the program back six months to a year. It sounds good
for TV but it’s not real.”
The bomb is
commonly known as a “bunker buster” because it was designed to destroy
underground bunkers, but it can be carried only by a B2 bomber that has air
superiority and requires a solid GPS signal to lock in on its target.
While Israel
has said it has established air superiority over Iran, a successful strike
would still require any GPS jammers and other defenses to be taken out in
advance, and for the the GBU-57 to penetrate deep enough into the ground to
neutralize the facility.
Iran built
the nuclear enrichment facility at Fordow underground to protect it from the
threat of aerial attacks. In 1981, Israel bombed a nuclear facility near
Baghdad that was located above ground in order to stop Iraq developing nuclear
weapons.
In recent
years, Israel has devised a variety of plans to destroy Fordow without the help
of the United States. In one instance, Israel proposed loading helicopters with
commandos who could fight their way into the facility and blow it up – an
option that Trump has dismissed, according to people familiar with the matter.
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