Iran: The Underground Nuclear Facility at Fordow and the Only Weapon That Can Destroy It

As tensions in the Middle East escalate, attention turns to Iran’s underground nuclear facility at Fordow. Only one weapon can cause real damage: the powerful American GBU-57 bomb. Iran’s nuclear program has been a point of contention in the Middle East for decades, with the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP) at the center of Western concerns. Located near the holy city of Qom, approximately 90 kilometers south of Tehran, Fordow was publicly revealed in 2009 following intelligence from Western agencies. Its deep placement within mountainous terrain makes it extremely difficult to target via aerial strikes, even with bunker-buster bombs or localized seismic activity. Reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) indicate hundreds of uranium enrichment centrifuges, including advanced IR-6 models, capable of reaching up to 60% enrichment levels—just below what is needed for nuclear weapons. Israeli officials have repeatedly stated that war with Iran will only end if this nuclear site is destroyed. The ultimate solution may lie in the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a 14-ton bomb so heavy it can only be deployed by U.S. bombers like the stealth B-2 Spirit. Weighing 13,600 kilograms, its kinetic energy allows penetration into deeply buried targets. As the most advanced bunker-buster in the U.S. arsenal, it can penetrate about 60 meters of reinforced concrete or 40 meters of solid rock before detonating. However, despite its power, destroying Fordow would require multiple precise strikes, and even then, complete destruction of internal equipment isn’t guaranteed. Moreover, since the GBU-57 rests solely in U.S. hands, deploying it would signal significant U.S. military involvement in an Iran-Israel conflict, sparking global repercussions.