The KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft was reinstalled on August 29, 2012 in the 509th Bomb Wing in Kansas.
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Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Iran is gazing at the possibility of seeing its most important nuclear facility hit by a 30,000-pound U.S. bomb.
White House officials told NBC News on Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a series of options Including Iran, which is directly eye-catchingAfter U.S. leaders repeatedly asserted that his administration would not allow Iran to continue its nuclear program or achieve bomb-making capabilities.
Trump called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and wrote in a post about the Truth Society that the United States has the ability to assassinate Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Trump wrote shortly after announcing “full control” of Iran Airlines: “He is an easy target, but it’s safe there – at least we won’t take him out (kill!).”
On June 13, a rapidly escalating conflict triggered by Israel’s raids on Iran’s military and nuclear facilities sent oil prices soaring and putting a region on the edge. Initially encouraging diplomatic talks with Tehran, Trump’s remarks increasingly threaten the population of Breth in the Middle East.
But it is not easy to undermine Iran’s nuclear program (Tehran asserts for civilian energy purposes only).
Iran’s most advanced and sturdy nuclear facility is the Fudo factory in the northwest of the country, which is a fortress.
Built on a hill about 300 feet underground and reinforced by a concrete layer, the plant (the most likely target of a potential U.S. strike) is impenetrable by any bomb except the giant ammunition penetrator (MOP) of GBU-57. The United States is the only country in the world that has this “Bunker Buster” weapon and the only country with the aircraft that can transport and deploy it: the B2 Spirit Stealth Bomber.
Iran saw Iran’s ongoing retaliation against Israel’s ballistic missiles from Tel Aviv, Israel on June 17, 2025.
Mostafa Alkharouf | Anadolu Getty Images
That’s why Israel is so eager for us to participate outside of its offensive operations against Iran.
But the strike itself is not a difficult task, military experts say.
“So you have two challenges. You have to put two of these penetrators in the exact same location” and may require multiple bombings, David Roches is David Roches, a professor and senior military researcher at the Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.
“Then, you will never be able to determine exactly how many facilities you have damaged,” he added. This means that people may need to be deployed on the ground.
“It leads me to believe that for these facilities, Israel will eventually control the air and then on the ground Army, force them into the facilities through a detonation gate, and then place explosive charges, deprive them of any wisdom they can get, and then explode from the inside,” Des Roches told CNBC. ”
The wider war in the United States?
Over the past few days, Israeli attacks have severely reduced Iran’s military capabilities, which have eliminated a large portion of its air defense, ballistic missiles, command and control nodes and dozens of top commanders.
Still, the U.S. strike could trigger Iran to respond to asset strikes in the region, such as embassies and military bases. Trump made it clear that any attack on American personnel would trigger a fierce reaction from the United States and then put the world’s most powerful army deeper into regional conflicts.
“Iranians say they are ready to attack our bases in the region if the U.S. attacks domestic soil,” said Gregory Brew, senior analyst at the Iranian and energy consulting consulting firm Eurasia Group, noting that Iraq’s U.S. bases are particularly vulnerable.
“In this environment, Iran’s retaliation would result in our casualties, kill our military, and potentially force President Trump to expand the scope of U.S. operations and pay additional strikes for Iran, of course, threaten general escalation and drag us into an action, not only an action, but also a fenced air campaign.”
Despite its large scale, the GPU-57 Bunker Buster does not cause extensive damage in the facility area, Des Roches said. But this will have a profound impact on Iranians, who have seen enormous damage to infrastructure and radioactive pollution risks to several nuclear sites in other parts of the country.
Another key question is whether the Trump administration will limit itself to targeting nuclear sites or expand its operations beyond the Israeli government, too, has been urging it as it conveys a desire to see regime changes in its long-term rivals.
“The conflict will be confident in Israel that it will lose its ability to manufacture nuclear weapons for a long time, and its defense capabilities are weakened enough that Israel will be able to return and effectively undermine any further efforts to manufacture nuclear weapons in Iran,” Des Roches argued.
Nuclear analysts say that if Faudo continues to operate, Israel’s attacks will hardly slow down Iran’s ability to make bombs. Therefore, the House decision in the coming days not only demonstrates the trajectory of Iran’s nuclear program, but also the viability of the overall regime of the Islamic Republic.
Ali Vaez, director of Iran’s program at the nonprofit crisis group, believes that even without a diplomatic avenue to reach a deal with the United States, Iran can survive and rebuild its nuclear program.”
“The United States entering the war will close the diplomatic door,” Vaez told CNBC. “Trump may be able to destroy Fordo, but he will not be able to bomb the knowledge Iran has already gained.”
