Bunker‑Buster Earthquake: New Satellite Images Expose Fordow’s Ruin—What the Bombs Hit, What Survived, and Why It Matters
Recent commercial satellite photographs released by Maxar Technologies, Planet Labs and multiple newsrooms confirm that the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant outside Qom—the deepest, most heavily‑fortified node in Iran’s nuclear network—absorbed direct hits from U.S. Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs during the 22 June allied air‑raid. High‑resolution before‑and‑after imagery shows at least six fresh penetrator holes in the limestone ridge above the centrifuge halls, collapsed tunnel portals, landslide debris and scorched support buildings, leading independent analysts and even the U.N. nuclear‑watchdog chief to conclude that “very significant damage” has almost certainly incapacitated the site. Yet Tehran’s denial of catastrophic loss, evidence of last‑minute truck convoys, and the unresolved question of where 408 kg of 60 % enriched uranium went leave the international community guessing whether Fordow’s destruction is a decisive setback or merely a costly pause in Iran’s march toward a bomb. omni.se reuters.com wsj.com ft.com Commissioned secretly in 2006 and publicly acknowledged in 2009, Fordow is carved 80‑100 m inside Kuh‑e‑Fordow mountain, buffered by reinforced concrete and IRGC air‑defence rings. Designed for 3,000 centrifuges, it recently ran tandem IR‑6 cascades enriching uranium to 60 %. gulfnews.com aljazeera.comAnalysts long called it “the be‑all and end‑all of Iran’s nuclear operation,” a phrase coined
