President Trump has been vague about potential U.S. military action against Iran to prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons. However, a leading security expert asserts that dismantling Iran’s nuclear capabilities is “a job only the U.S. can do.”
Recent Israeli strikes against Iran, starting Thursday night, reportedly impacted the underground structures of the Natanz nuclear facility, according to the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog. The extent of the damage is still unclear, despite some structures 36 feet underground sustaining “direct impact.”
The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, believed capable of producing a nuclear warhead within days, was not targeted, likely because Israel lacks the necessary military strength to strike the facility, which is reportedly buried up to 300 feet underground.
Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies stated, “Fordow is not the only remaining important nuclear facility, but it’s the most dangerous. Destroying it from the air is a job only the U.S. can do.”
The Fordow nuclear facility is considered Iran’s most fortified nuclear site, constructed deep within a mountain and containing two enrichment halls.
Penetrating this facility might require a 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bomb, specifically a GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). However, even this is estimated to only reach around 200 feet, according to reports.
Dubowitz explained that effectively damaging the facility requires more than just bunker-busting munitions. It also necessitates “stealth delivery platforms like the B-2 Spirit bomber to penetrate advanced air defenses and deliver the MOP,” along with precise Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) “to ensure you’re not just damaging outer entrances or fake decoys.”
He emphasized that “Only the United States possesses the full spectrum.” Israel, despite its considerable regional power and advanced Air Force, currently lacks the MOP and the platforms to deploy it.
He added, “Its F-35I Adirs and F-15I Ra’ams can inflict serious damage – but penetrating Fordow fully remains beyond current Israeli capability without U.S. cooperation or creative alternatives like internal sabotage or specialized ordnance.”
Trump highlighted the U.S. military’s capabilities on Truth Social, stating, “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured ‘stuff.’”
He further added, “Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA.”
The White House has not addressed questions about a potential direct strike on Iranian soil, although Trump has repeatedly stated that Iran cannot possess nuclear weapons. He also issued a stark warning on Monday, advising “everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran.”
Earlier on Monday, the president declined to comment on what would prompt direct U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict.
However, he cut short his attendance at the G7 meeting in Canada to address the ongoing conflict, stating aboard Air Force One that he seeks a “real end” to the conflict.
He stated, “I’m not looking at a ceasefire. We’re looking at better than a ceasefire,” adding, “I’m not too much in the mood to negotiate.”
Trump is expected to be in the Situation Room today, but any imminent attack on Iran by the U.S. or Israel remains unconfirmed.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said on “Fox and Friends” Tuesday that “as we speak, our planes, our air force is acting in Iran right now,” adding, “we have very impressive results on the ground.”
He further stated, “We will continue, and you will see more results. But you know when you look at the side of Israel and compare[d] to the side Iran, we are a tiny country…9 million people compared to 90 million Iranians. So, we have limited capabilities, but we punch high.”
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