Where the US attacked nuclear sites in Iran

If Trump decides to use U.S. forces against facilities like Fardow, he may opt to send the U.S. Air Force's B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.
The bomber's internal weapons bays are specifically designed to maintain stealth characteristics while accommodating large ordnance loads which could include two GBU-57A/B MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator), a 30,000-pound precision-guided 'bunker buster' bomb.
The MOP represents the largest conventional bomb in the U.S. arsenal, specifically engineered to defeat hardened underground bunkers. Its massive size provides unmatched bunker-penetration capability, while the weapon's 20.5-foot length and GPS-guided precision targeting system enable accurate strikes against specific underground facilities. Its penetration capability of over 60 metres (200 feet) through hardened concrete makes it effective against the world's most protected underground installations.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Daily Mail​

39 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

Los Angeles cops scramble to delete 'embarrassing and offensive' post about Iran strikes: 'How is this real?'

Los Angeles cops have scrambled to delete a bizarre social media post about the conflict in Iran after it was widely slammed as 'embarrassing' and 'offensive'. The LA County Sheriff's Department expressed condolences for the 'tragic' US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday in a since-censored post. 'Our hearts go out to the victims and families impacted by the recent bombings in Iran,' the post on X stated. 'While this tragic event happened overseas, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is closely monitoring the situation alongside our local, state and federal partners.' Social media users were quick to slam the post as out-of-touch with public sentiment, and disrespectful to the Jewish community. Many people also questioned why a local sheriff's department was getting involved in international politics, particularly after facing heavy criticism for allowing anti-ICE and 'No Kings' riots to spiral out of control in LA just weeks ago. 'We sincerely hope your account was hacked,' a non-profit group called Stop Antisemitism wrote in response to the controversial post. 'There were no victims in last night's successful targeting of Iran's nuclear sites.' A non-profit group called Stop Antisemitism were among those who called out the post One X user slammed the post as 'PATHETIC and DISGUSTING'. 'Your "hearts are with the people of Iran". Did you put that statement out EVERY time the people of Israel got bombed?' they fumed. 'No wonder your city and state is a CESSPOOL.' 'As a 31 year veteran of a Big City Police Department, I have to say that your initial post, calling the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites a 'tragic event', was beyond embarrassing,' another person wrote. 'Since when do LE agencies comment on national defense, or foreign policy issues? Try policing LA.' The sheriff's office promptly deleted the post and issued a lengthy apology. 'We are issuing this statement to formally apologize for an offensive and inappropriate social media post recently posted on our Department social media platforms regarding the ongoing conflict in Iran. 'This post was unacceptable, made in error, and does not reflect the views of Sheriff Robert G. Luna or the Department. 'As a law enforcement agency, we do not comment on foreign policy or military matters. Our mission remains solely focused on protecting public safety and serving our diverse communities.' The sheriff's office promptly deleted the post and issued a lengthy apology (shown above) The department said it has 'launched an internal review to determine how it was created and published'. 'Steps are being taken to strengthen our social media oversight protocols and ensure that any future communications align with our Department's standards of professionalism, respect, and accountability,' they added. But X users weren't satisfied, and many doubled down on their criticism of the department. 'I do not accept your apology,' one person wrote. 'The offensive post regarding the situation in Iran was deeply disrespectful, especially given the significant Jewish community of over half a million in Los Angeles. 'An internal review and updated protocols are insufficient to address the harm caused. 'True accountability and respect must be demonstrated through meaningful action, not just words. 'I urge you to engage with the community to rebuild the trust you've broken.' 'Someone needs to be removed from your social media team and reprimanded. It was totally unacceptable post! In the private world, they'd be fired,' another person said. 'DID YOU APOLOGIZE TO THE JEWISH COMMUNITY?' a third X user commented. 'I didn't see that here.' X users said the sheriff's office should focus on the chaos in their own backyard instead of getting involved in international issues. LA law enforcement officials are under the microscope for their handling of anti-ICE riots in the city which spiraled out of control on June 6. Demonstrations were initially peaceful, but they escalated into lawlessness and violence when some protestors lit vehicles on fire and looted stores. Police and local politicians were heavily criticized for failing to preserve the peace. On June 14, the protests spread nationwide with 2,000 rallies organized across all 50 states by 'No Kings', a group which says it opposes 'authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarization of our democracy'. Trump entered the conflict between Israel and Iran on Saturday night by using American warplanes to target Iranian facilities in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. Known as Operation Midnight Hammer, the strike involved more than 125 US military aircraft, along with submarines. Iran has warned that there will be repercussions, and Trump hit back by saying that any retaliation would be met with 'even greater force than what was unleashed today'. The Middle Eastern country launched more missiles on Tel Aviv in Israel on Sunday morning, and Iran's Houthi allies in Yemen also said they would join the retaliation. There have already been hundreds of casualties. Iran's health ministry said Israeli strikes killed at least 400 people and injured 3,000, while at least 24 people in Israel have died in missile strikes from Iran. The conflict escalated 10 days ago when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched attacks on Iran's nuclear and military strikes. Israel first warned people in Tehran's District 18, which comprises military buildings and residential neighborhoods, to evacuate. Hours later, the first volley of strikes were reported in the area. Netanyahu said the attacks, called Operation Rising Lion, targeted Iran's nuclear program. 'If not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time,' Netanyahu said. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel 'should anticipate a severe punishment', while its foreign minister called the strikes a 'declaration of war'.

Leader Live

an hour ago

• Leader Live

Lammy says Middle East needs ‘diplomatic solution' after US talks

His remarks came after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, held in the wake of US airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites. Mr Lammy also spoke with secretary of state Marco Rubio. 'Important discussion with @SecRubio this evening on the situation in the Middle East,' Mr Lammy wrote in a post on X. Important discussion with @SecRubio this evening on the situation in the Middle East. We will continue to work with our allies to protect our people, secure regional stability and drive forward a diplomatic solution. — David Lammy (@DavidLammy) June 22, 2025 'We will continue to work with our allies to protect our people, secure regional stability and drive forward a diplomatic solution.' In a Monday post on Truth Social, Mr Trump claimed the US strikes caused 'monumental' damage, although US officials have said they are still assessing the situation. 'The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!' he wrote. Over the weekend, the US attacked Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz which are linked to Iran's nuclear programme. The Tehran regime has insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful, but its uranium enrichment process has gone far beyond what is required for power stations. Israeli military officials confirmed late on Sunday they had struck infrastructure sites in Tehran and in the west of Iran. Explosions could be heard in the city of Bushehr on Sunday, home to Iran's only nuclear power plant. Israel confirmed it had struck missile launchers in the city, as well as a command centre where missiles were being stored. Iranian media reported defence systems were firing in Tehran in the early hours of Monday morning, but Iran is yet to comment on the latest strikes. On Sunday night, Downing Street said Sir Keir and Mr Trump agreed Tehran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and called for Iran to return to negotiations. 'The leaders discussed the situation in the Middle East and reiterated the grave risk posed by Iran's nuclear programme to international security,' Downing Street said. 'They discussed the actions taken by the United States last night to reduce the threat and agreed that Iran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon. 'They discussed the need for Iran to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible and to make progress on a lasting settlement. 'They agreed to stay in close contact in the coming days.' Other countries endorsed the US strikes, with Australian foreign minister Penny Wong giving the White House her full backing on Monday. 'We support action to prevent Iran getting a nuclear weapon and that is what this is,' she said. In the hours after Mr Trump's phone call with Sir Keir, he again posted on Truth Social, saying: 'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!' The social media post marked a reversal from previous statements on regime change, including an earlier press conference from defence secretary Pete Hegseth, about the bombing on the three nuclear sites. Iran is yet to confirm how much damage was done in the US-led attack.

Scotsman

an hour ago

• Scotsman

Only Trump supporters are surprised by the President's bombing decision

POOL/AFP via Getty Images Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Over the weekend, President Trump's bombing of Iran's three nuclear sites has split his Make America Great Again supporter base. His normally outspoken and brazen acolytes have been learning to mid-air somersault as they seek to rationalise and excuse the President's decision. These commentators, after all, are the ones who have bleated an America First policy of non-interventionism. The bombing goes against everything the MAGA movement stands for. They say domestic policy, protectionist trade, and American nationalism are utterly incompatible with global interventionism and that spinning the Middle East roulette wheel and claiming you can foresee the outcome is utter madness. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But why are they surprised? The MAGA movement aspires to a status of selective global engagement. For most of the 19th century, Britain was diplomatically isolated, having what Lord Palmerston called "no eternal allies" to whom she owed favours. The obverse of this, of course, was that no other country owed favours to her. Trump's hostility to NATO lends credence to this ambition, but his unwavering allegiance to Israel continues to tie America's fate to the Middle East. His decision to strike Iran on the back of Israel's attack on June 13 can hardly come as a shock when the President has continued America's tradition of long-standing military and economic support for the country. American foreign policy has always been split: on the one hand, some believe the country should be an inspiring "Shining City on a Hill" example to others. Conversely, others are convinced that only intervention and a total military and economic global hegemony will liberate the world from despotism and fanaticism and shape it in America's image. The two dominant ideologies in the United States about foreign policy are interventionism, which encourages military and political intervention in the affairs of foreign countries, and isolationism, which discourages this. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This is an old controversy dating back to the Founding Fathers, who struggled to reconcile the opportunities of continental security with the realities of a British, Spanish, and French imperial world. No president has ever managed to reconcile their ambition with what our own former Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, called "Events, dear boy, events." In the American tradition, there has never been a clear demarcation between Left and Right, Democrats and Republicans, on whether the US should embrace a global role. "America First," after all, was first deployed by Woodrow Wilson, who was reluctant for the country to enter World War 1 (it, of course, subsequently did in 1917). Theodore Roosevelt, Wilson's Republican bitter rival and predecessor, believed the country should "Speak softly and carry a big stick." Roosevelt's approach to foreign policy was to negotiate peacefully and maintain a strong military presence to back up one's words. In the 19th century, the United States transitioned from an isolationist, post-colonial regional power to a trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific power. Debates about restraint and international engagement are still the same as they were at the turn of the last two centuries and just as self-deludingly hypocritical. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad President James Monroe declared the eponymous Monroe Doctrine in 1823, which opposed European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. It stated that further European colonisation or intervention in the Americas would be viewed as hostile toward the United States. Monroe nevertheless expanded trade and pacified relations with Great Britain while growing the United States at the expense of the Spanish Empire, including obtaining Florida with the Adams–Onís Treaty in 1819. Likewise, Dollar diplomacy, notably during the presidency of William Howard Taft, sought to minimise the use or threat of military force by using the United States' economic power to further its aims in Latin America and East Asia. With no loss of irony, Taft was a proponent of American imperialism in the early 20th century, and like his presidential descendant, he considered North American economic integration with Canada inevitable. More often than not, internationalism is forced upon leaders. America passed successive Neutrality Acts in the 1930s to keep the country out of the Second World War. By the time of the Pearl Harbour attacks on December 8, 1941, America had been involved in a Destroyers-for-bases deal in 1940, and this was followed by the Lend-Lease Act of March 1941, which allowed the U.S. to sell, lend or give war materials to nations Roosevelt wanted to support: Britain, France, and China. The Truman Doctrine of 1947 likewise promised unabated assistance to anti-communist allies. Security does not begin or stop, as Trump tends to forget, at a literal border. No one presumably ever wants war, but it is a house of cards to build a cult of personality, as Trump has done, around the notion that he is not an international adventurer, a NeoCon imperialist, or an American Caesar. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Iranian regime is one of the most awful the world has seen. Since the Iranian Revolution and the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979, they have tortured and tormented their people more than any foreign power. The regime's clear ambitions have consistently drawn strong opposition from Western countries and neighbouring states in the Middle East. The Trump presidency cannot pretend this reality does not exist, and Israel certainly cannot. "Trust in Trump" is now an exercise in faith. The problem, as Trump supporters will soon discover, is that the central tenets of MAGA are contradictory and more at home in a pre-WW2 world where the world was less interconnected. Complexity begets complexity, and only the stupid believe that war is an Occam's razor. You can do nothing, you cannot do everything. This is the irony of superpowers. America has been, and very likely will always be, caught in a game of setting an example to the world and being the world's policeman. It is a question for history as to whether this example is a good one or not. To defend its interests, the US has engaged in extrajudicial, covert, and military engagements in the name of everything from security to humanitarianism.