CNN
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Fighter plane. submarine. Cruise missile. A 30,000 pound bomb.
After initially supporting diplomacy, US President Donald Trump relied on an extraordinary use of force against Iran on Saturday night, striking the administration’s three major nuclear sites.
Trump claimed that Iran’s nuclear facility had been “eliminated,” but some Iranian officials downplayed the impact of the strike, just as they did when Israel first attacked Iran’s facility on June 13.
As satellite images of overnight strikes begin to emerge, here is what we know about the damage the US has done to Iran’s nuclear program.
Fordow is Iran’s most important nuclear enrichment facility, buried deep in the mountains to protect it from attack.
The main hall is thought to be approximately 80-90 meters (262-295 feet) from the ground. Analysts have long been the only military in the world, with the bomb needed to dig deep holes: the giant 30,000 pound GBU-57.
The US will use six B-2 bombers to drop 12 of those “bunker-destroying” bombs on the site, US officials told CNN.
CNN analysis of satellite images showed that the US strike left at least six large craters on the Fordow site, referring to the use of bombs that destroy the bunker.
Images taken by Maxar showed six separate impact craters at two nearby locations in Fordow. The crater is visible along the ridge that runs through the underground complex.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear watchdog, told CNN that although there was “direct dynamics impact” on Fordow, it was too early to determine whether it caused internal damage to the subway.
“Of course we can’t rule out (possibility) that there is a huge loss there,” he said.
David Albright, chairman of the Institute for International Security of Science (ISIS), told CNN that the satellite imagery “may have caused considerable damage to the enrichment halls and adjacent halls supporting enrichment.”
“Complete destruction of underground halls is very possible,” Albright said, but emphasized that a full assessment of the damage takes time.
Nr Jenzen-Jones, ammunition expert and director of research firm Armament Research Services (ARES), agreed that Fordow has at least six entry points following the US strike.
“The larger central entry halls of the two groups had irregular shapes, suggesting that multiple ammunition had hit the same exact location,” Jenzen-Jones told CNN.
“This is consistent with the theory of attacks on deeply buried targets like the Fordow site.
Satellite images also show a major change in the colour of the mountainside where the facility is housed, showing that the vast area was covered with a layer of gray ash in the aftermath of the strike.
CNN analysis of images collected prior to the US strike suggests that Iran has taken steps to strengthen the entrance to the tunnels believed to lead to underground facilities. The image showed dirt piled up in front of at least two of the six entrances.
The Iranian foreign minister said the US had crossed the “very big red line,” but other Iranian leaders downplayed the impact of the strike. Manan Reisi, a council member representing QOM city near Fordau, said the damage caused by the attack was “very superficial.”
However, ISIS’s Albright told CNN that it “should” reject the initial report from Iran. He said during previous attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Tehran soft-pedaled its impact, but only to tell the story of the satellite imagery very differently.
Natanz is the site of Iran’s largest nuclear enrichment centre and targeted Israel’s first attack on Iran on June 13th. The site has six above-ground buildings and three underground structures, and three underground structures, an important technology for nuclear enrichment, which converts uranium into nuclear fuel.
The ground facilities were damaged in Israel’s first attack. The IAEA said Strike has issued damaged electrical infrastructure at the plant.
It is not clear whether the Israeli strike directly damaged the underground facilities, but the IAEA said the loss of power to the underground cascade hall “may have damaged the centrifuge there.”
The US also targeted Natantz in its operations on Saturday night. US officials said the B-2 bomber dropped a bomb on the site destroying two bunkers.
The US Navy submarine fired 30 Tura Cruise missiles at Natanz and Isfahan, the third Iranian site targeted by the US.
Isfahan, located in central Iran, is home to the largest nuclear research facility in the country.
According to the non-profit Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), the facility was built with support from China and opened in 1984. According to the NTI, around 3,000 scientists are employed in Isfahan, and the site is “suspected to be the heart of Iran’s nuclear program.”
Albright said the first report suggested that the US had attacked the tunnel complex near Isfahansite.
If confirmed, Albright said this indicates that the US is trying to remove Iranian stocks of uranium enriched at 20% and 60%. Weapon grade uranium is concentrated to 90%.
CNN could not independently confirm that tunnel complexes near Isfahansite were targeted.
At a Pentagon press conference on Sunday, General Dan Kane, U.S. Chairman of the Co-State, said the US submarine “has launched more than a dozen Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missiles against major surface infrastructure targets at the Isfahansite.”
Reported by CNN’s Isaac Ye, Avery Schmitz, Thomas Bordeaux, Haley Britzky and Kristen Holmes.