Image shows entry points of 30,000-pound American 'bunker-buster' bombs at Fordow nuclear facility

The first satellite images released on Sunday reveal the results of the American air strike on the Fordow underground nuclear facility in Iran. The nuclear facility, built deep into a mountainside, lies an estimated 80 to 90 meters underground, forcing the US to use bunker-buster bombs to decimate it.

The images show several impact sites as a result of precise bombings carried out during the night by the US Air Force. Three impact sites are deep, indicating the entry points of the 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator. 

As per reports from the US, Fordow is not only partially damaged or caved in, but destroyed. US President Trump had also claimed that the bombs "obliterated" Iran's main nuclear sites Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. 

Also read: Satellite images from Iran's Fordow show last-ditch effort by Tehran to save the underground nuclear facility

However, Iran is attempting to downplay the attacks, stating nuclear installation has not been seriously damaged. "Most of the affected areas were above ground and can be fully restored," Manan Raeisi, an Iranian lawmaker representing Qom, the holy city near the Fordow nuclear site, told reporters. 

Iran also claimed that the uranium stockpile stored at the facility had been moved out ahead of time to minimise the strategic damage to the site. Satellite images taken two days before the attack show a large convoy of vehicles moving near the nuclear facility in Fordow. While this has been cited as a last-ditch effort to reinforce the facility, many also believe it hinted at the transfer of uranium to an alternative site.

Middle East