The first satellite images from Iran’s Fordow nuclear enrichment site show that part of the mountain protecting the facility was completely obliterated by US bunker buster bomb strikes Saturday, as experts say it appears at least part of the underground structures have collapsed.
Possible bomb entry points and rubble was visible following President Trump’s surprise B-2 stealth bomber attack overnight, the images taken by Maxar Technologies show.
The once-brown mountainside turned gray in parts, with the entire topography of the area changed by the detonation of 14 30,000-pound Massive Ordinance Penetrator (MOP) bombs.
BEFORE: Aerial view of the Fordow underground complex in Iran head of the US strikes on the facility. MAXAR Technologies
AFTER: Massive holes in the mountain and craters can be seen following the US B-2 bomber strike. MAXAR Technologies
President Trump’s surprise B-2 stealth bomber attack occurred overnight. ABIR SULTAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Light gray smoke also appears to be hanging in the air over the site, around 100 miles south of Tehran, the images show.
AFTER: A satellite image of overview of Fordow underground complex following the US strikes. MAXAR Technologies“The topography has changed. You can see areas in the post-blast photo using the building as your marker,” the Atlantic Council’s Alex Plitsas told The Post.
“If you look from that to the right compared to the historic photo, you can see where areas are now flat, so it’s clear that whatever was underneath had collapsed.”
Other high-resolution satellite images suggest Iran sealed up the tunnel entrances at Fordow before the attack.
Further satellite images show destroyed buildings at a nuclear site near Iran’s second largest city Isfahan. APAn artery of roads lead to the facility, with pre-images showing many vehicles lined up close to the entry points.The Fordow site suffered “major damage” in the strike along with a second site in Esfahan, while the nuclear site in Natanz has been destroyed, sources told the Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
A before image reveals the damage done to the site in Isfahan. APTehran is yet to issue a damage assessment of the site.
A building bearing a landmark anti-US mural in Tehran. AFP via Getty Images
People inspect a damaged car at the site of an Iranian strike in the Israeli port city of Haifa. AFP via Getty ImagesIran reportedly evacuated Fordow some time ago, according to state TV.
“The enriched uranium reserves had been transferred from the nuclear centers and there are no materials left there that, if targeted, would cause radiation and be harmful to our compatriots,” Hassan Abedini, deputy political head of Iran’s state broadcaster, said following the attack, according to Reuters.
Fordow is buried deep under a mountain near the city of Qom, meaning the tactics deployed by the US and Israel were to cause a cave-in or subsidence onto the site, according to military sources.
Iran reportedly evacuated Fordow some time ago, according to state TV.
According to military sources, the tactics deployed by the US and Israel were to cause a cave-in or subsidence. US Air ForceAt around 54,000 square feet in size, it contained some 3,000 centrifuges.
Israel lacked the ordnance to take out Fordow on its own in the short term, which is why the US GBU-57, carried out by US B-2 bombers, was requested, according to Heather Williams from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The GBU-57, a 30,000-pound so-called bunker-busting bomb, is capable of penetrating up to 200 feet underground before exploding.
Developed in the early 2000s, it can even go through rock or concrete before the warhead explodes.
Further photos show before and after satellite images of the attack on the Isfahan nuclear site.
Aerial pictures show several buildings completely obliterated at the site near Iran’s second-largest city.
