How effective was the US attack on Iran's nuclear sites? A visual guide

Donald Trump was quick to claim that US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities had 'completely and totally obliterated' them. Still, it remains unclear how much physical damage has been done or what the longer-term impact might be on Iran's nuclear programme.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) confirmed that attacks took place on its Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz sites, but insisted that its nuclear programme would not be stopped. Both Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog said there were no immediate signs of radioactive contamination around the three locations after the strikes.
The Iranian Red Crescent also reported no deaths in the US strikes on the nuclear sites, appearing to confirm Iranian claims they had been evacuated in advance. In the immediate aftermath, US military officials suggested the three sites had suffered 'severe damage' after an operation that had been weeks in planning, suggesting that it was fully coordinated in advance with Israel.
The Pentagon said a battle damage assessment was still being conducted.
Long regarded as the most difficult military target among Iran's nuclear sites, the uranium enrichment facilities at Fordow – the primary target of the operation – are buried beneath the Zagros mountains. Reports have suggested that the site was constructed beneath between 45 and 90 metres of bedrock, largely limestone and dolomite.
Some experts have suggested that the layering of the sedimentary rocks, including faults, would also make it more difficult to strike the centrifuge array, providing a kind of geological cushioning against a blast wave.
The attack – codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer – was carried out by seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers flying from the US, after a deception flight by other B-2s into the Pacific. Tomahawk missiles were also fired from US ships in waters south of Iran.
The site was hit by a dozen 13,600kg massive ordnance penetrators – known as bunker busters – at around 2.10am Iranian time. It was the massive weapon's first operational use. The number used suggests some lack of confidence that a smaller strike could penetrate to the target.
The result would to a large extent depend on the kind of concrete inside the facility, with estimates of the bunker busters' penetration based largely on reinforced concrete resistant to 5,000psi. Iran is believed to have used more resistant concrete.
While video from the site showed evidence of a fire in the immediate aftermath, satellite images published on Sunday were inconclusive.
The Open Source Centre in London highlighted what appeared to be at least two locations where the weapons appeared to have penetrated.
While the main support building at the site appeared to be undamaged, the topography of a prominent area of ridgelines and small wadis appeared to have altered and been flattened out, with some evidence of rock scarring exposing damaged bedrock near an area that could show fresh cratering.
While analysts had previously suggested that a strike could hit the main entrance tunnel to the site, the main effort appears to have been in a different location.
There was speculation that the main aim of the strikes may have been to bury access to Fordow.
Isfahan's nuclear technology centre was struck by cruise missiles as opposed to bunker busters. Video posted on social media showed a distant detonation from the site on Saturday night.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in addition to four hit by Israeli strikes, six other buildings had now been attacked, including a fuel rod production facility.
The IAEA said facilities targeted at Isfahan either contained no nuclear material or small quantities of natural or low-enriched uranium.
Natanz had previously been damaged by the first Israeli strikes of the conflict, with assessments then suggesting they had hit the power plant supplying the main centrifuge hall. Uranium had been enriched to up to 60%, short of weapons-grade material.
It appears that Natanz's underground enrichment hall was targeted, but it is unclear how much damage was inflicted.
In response to the US strikes, Iran launched ballistic missiles at Israel on Sunday, triggering countrywide air raid sirens and injuring 16 people.
Iran has claimed that it evacuated the sites several days ago, and satellite imagery from several days ago suggests there was unusual truck traffic at Fordow. That appears to confirm the movement of some material from the site, possibly including the uranium stockpile – or parts of it – which remains unaccounted for.
Hassan Abedini, the deputy political head of Iran's state broadcaster, said Iran had evacuated the three sites – Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow – some time ago.
'The enriched uranium reserves had been transferred from the nuclear centres and there are no materials left there that, if targeted, would cause radiation and be harmful to our compatriots,' he said.
Three days before the US attacks, 16 cargo trucks were seen near the Fordow entrance tunnel.
The head of the AEOI, Mohammad Eslami, claimed this month that Iran had another enrichment site 'in a secure and invulnerable location' where centrifuges could be.
Analysts have long argued that while it is possible to disrupt the physical function of a nuclear facility and limit the scope of a programme through, for example, the Israeli assassination of scientists, the breadth of technical knowledge acquired during the decades-long programme is impossible to destroy.
Ultimately, the question is whether the US-Israeli attacks are seen as sufficient for Iran to capitulate, or whether they instead encourage the regime to accelerate its efforts to produce a viable nuclear weapon.

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Iranian nuclear sites sustained 'extremely severe damage' after US strikes, Pentagon says

Iranian nuclear sites sustained "extremely severe damage and destruction" in air strikes, the US has said - a stance mostly supported by the UN's nuclear watchdog. General Dan Caine, chairman of America's joint chiefs of staff, told reporters that the destruction wrought by Operation Midnight Hammer will take "some time" to assess. But he added that "initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction". The sites are Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Fordow is a secretive nuclear facility buried about 80m below a mountain and one of two key uranium enrichment plants in Iran, along with Natanz. Isfahan features a large nuclear technology centre and enriched uranium is also stored there, diplomats say. At Fordow, satellite images taken after the attack show holes in the mountain in which the nuclear site was situated. Other images of Natanz, which is also suspected of having an underground facility, appear to show a new hole in a rocky area. Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, said the initial assessment was that "all of our precision munitions struck where we wanted them to strike and had the desired effect". "Which means, especially in Fordow, which was the primary target here, we believe we achieved destruction of capabilities there," he added. America's attack brings the US into direct involvement in the war between Israel and Iran, which started on 13 June. It prompted threats of reprisals from Tehran, raising fears of a wider regional conflict. Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the facility at Natanz had been "completely destroyed", while its underground halls "suffered a lot" because of cuts to electricity as the result of Israeli attacks. He also told CNN that the Isfahan site had suffered "very significant damage". At Fordow, which is deep underground, he said it was difficult to know how much damage had been done. Satellite images appear to show major damage at Isfahan. Natanz was believed to have possibly already suffered extensive damage in Israel's strikes earlier this week. Fourteen bunker buster bombs were used in the attacks on Fordow and Natanz, and numerous Tomahawk cruise missiles were also used in operation, which was described by Donald Trump as "very successful". However, a senior Iranian source told the Reuters news agency that most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordow was moved to an undisclosed location ahead of the attacks. Personnel numbers were said to have been cut, too. The IAEA said there had been "no increase in off-site radiation levels" after the strikes. Donald Trump said no further attacks were planned and he hoped diplomacy would take over. 1:15 Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned that the US strikes "will have everlasting consequences", adding that his country "reserves all options" to retaliate. Mr Hegseth said the United States "does not seek war" but would "act swiftly and decisively when our people, our partners, or our interests are threatened". Iran has repeatedly denied it is seeking a nuclear weapon, and Mr Grossi said this month the IAEA had no proof of a "systematic effort to move into a nuclear weapon". However, the IAEA said last month that Iran had amassed 408.6kg of uranium enriched up to 60% - a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Since the war broke out more than a week ago, Iranian authorities say more than 400 people have been killed since Israel's bombardment began, mostly civilians. 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"Iran's nuclear programme is a grave threat to international security. Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat," said Sir Keir Starmer.

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‘Enjoy the fireworks': Cautious optimism on the streets of Tel Aviv

Alerts blared out on phones across Israel at 7.30am on Sunday and, just a minute or so after the blast doors were pulled tight, deep percussive thuds reverberated through the Tel Aviv bomb shelter. It was one of the largest salvos of recent days, with at least 40 ballistic missiles fired at the Jewish state from Iran. All across the country, people were hunkering down, most unaware of the overnight US strikes on Fordow and Iran's other nuclear facilities. Sleep has been hard enough for most Israelis over the last week, with phones often inundated with missile alerts and news notifications in the dead of night. The 15 to 20 people in the Tel Aviv hotel shelter sucked in a collective breath with the thud of the impacts but quickly turned to their phones to peruse reports on the night's action. One by one, smiles spread across sleepy faces with the knowledge that the US had joined Israel in its fight against Iran. This is a country where people have long believed that 'strength' is all. 'For me, the biggest message this sends is that no one f---s with us,' a young South African-born Israeli told me after the blast doors opened. Seven kilometres to the north, a ballistic missile had slammed into the densely compacted residential neighbourhood of Ramat Aviv. Others caused devastation in Ness Ziona, south of Tel Aviv, and the northern city of Haifa. There were no deaths, but more than 100 people were reported injured. The shockwave at the Tel Aviv housing estate sheared off the outside wall off an old but smart-looking concrete apartment block and destroyed multiple neighbouring houses. That block alone contained 34 apartments and an adjacent high-rise had its windows blown out from top to bottom on the blast-facing side, making hundreds homeless. It is thought that at least 20 were injured there. A senior police officer said at the scene that tragedy was averted because everyone got to their safe rooms. 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Caroline Molcho was relocated temporarily to the Dan Panorama hotel in Tel Aviv after her home was destroyed in a strike last week. The French-Israeli had been in a safe room in her apartment when the missile hit. 'I feel so lucky – it really saved my life, but now we have no idea how long this process will last, how long will I stay here. The future is now really uncertain,' she said.