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Why US Bunker-Busting Bombs Are Key to Israel's Iran Goals

Why US Bunker-Busting Bombs Are Key to Israel's Iran Goals

Bloomberg12 hours ago

In launching their military offensive against Iran, Israeli officials have said their goal is to neutralize the country's ability to develop nuclear weapons. It's widely thought that to truly cripple Iran's capacity to produce fuel for such weapons, Israel would require the help of its chief ally, the US. That's because the US has something Israel does not: a so-called bunker-busting bomb potentially powerful enough to destroy Iran's most fortified uranium enrichment facility, the Fordow plant.
At the heart of Iran's nuclear program are two main facilities for producing enriched uranium, which can be used to fuel a nuclear bomb when processed to contain a high percentage of uranium-235 isotopes to support a fission chain reaction. Both facilities, Natanz and Fordow, were designed to have at least some resilience to military attacks.

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