What visuals show of damage to Iran's nuclear sites after US strike

In an image provided by Maxar Technologies, the ridge at the Fordow underground complex is seen after the United States struck the nuclear facility near Qom, Iran, on Sunday, June 22, 2025.
SATELLITE IMAGE ©2025 MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/NYT
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Blast analysts cautioned against drawing conclusions too quickly, as underground impacts depend on a variety of factors, including depth of detonation and surrounding geology.
Between 1:45 and 2:30 a.m. local time, satellites used for spotting fires and severe weather around the world appear to have detected significant heat-related events close to the Fordow site. The heat signatures were captured in a location that experts said was used for air defense at the site.
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that as the B-2 stealth bombers carrying bunker-busting Massive Ordnance Penetrators approached Fordow and Natanz, U.S. forces deployed 'suppression weapons' against any potential Iranian surface-to-air threats. Ultimately, Iran's air-defense systems did not appear to fire at the U.S. aircraft on their way in and out of Iranian airspace, Pentagon officials said.
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About 2:10 a.m. local time, Caine said, the lead B-2 bomber dropped the first two GBU-57 MOPs on the Fordow facility. The 30,000-pound precision-guided bombs are designed to destroy subterranean targets. In total, seven B-2s dropped 14 bombs at Fordow and Natanz, according to officials.
Satellite images taken Sunday morning show two clusters of three entry points along the ridge above the Fordow facility, according to experts who reviewed imagery of the aftermath.
In an image provided by Maxar Technologies, a crater is visible over the underground Natanz Enrichment Facility after it was hit by United States airstrikes, near Natanz, Iran, on Sunday, June 22, 2025.
SATELLITE IMAGE ©2025 MAXAR TEC/NYT
The analysts said the strikes appear to have targeted the 250-meter-long cascade hall - the main part of the facility where the centrifuges are located - which was built into the mountain and later covered.
Clustering several munitions around a single point of impact is a common targeting method for destroying bunkers and well-hardened structures, said Wes Bryant, the former chief of civilian harm assessments at the Pentagon's Civilian Protection Center of Excellence.
Satellite images from the days before the U.S. strike showed 'unusual truck and vehicular activity' at Fordow, according to a senior analyst at the satellite firm Maxar Technologies.
On Thursday, there were 16 cargo trucks along the access road leading to the underground military complex. Images taken the next day show that most of the trucks had moved a little more than a half-mile northwest, farther from the facility, according to the analysis. Other trucks and bulldozers were positioned near the site's entrance, including one truck directly next to it.
Spencer Faragasso, senior research fellow at the Institute for Science and International Security, who reviewed an image taken Saturday before the strikes, said among other reasons, the Iranians may have backfilled the tunnels as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of hazardous material.
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This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a close view of the Isfahan nuclear technology in Iran after U.S. strikes, Monday, June 22, 2025.
Uncredited/Associated Press
'They probably shut things down and removed what they could, then sealed it up,' Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Project at the Middlebury Institute's James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said in a message, leaving Washington and Jerusalem to play 'whack-a-mole with Iran.'
Now, the tunnel entrances near where trucks were seen appear to be filled with dirt, either from the shock wave of the bombing or from previous Iranian activity. A coating of gray-blue ash made of debris from the facility lays across the sand.
Jonathan Baran, Alex Horton and Souad Mekhennet contributed to this report.

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What visuals show of damage to Iran's nuclear sites after US strike

In an image provided by Maxar Technologies, the ridge at the Fordow underground complex is seen after the United States struck the nuclear facility near Qom, Iran, on Sunday, June 22, 2025. SATELLITE IMAGE ©2025 MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/NYT Advertisement Blast analysts cautioned against drawing conclusions too quickly, as underground impacts depend on a variety of factors, including depth of detonation and surrounding geology. Between 1:45 and 2:30 a.m. local time, satellites used for spotting fires and severe weather around the world appear to have detected significant heat-related events close to the Fordow site. The heat signatures were captured in a location that experts said was used for air defense at the site. Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that as the B-2 stealth bombers carrying bunker-busting Massive Ordnance Penetrators approached Fordow and Natanz, U.S. forces deployed 'suppression weapons' against any potential Iranian surface-to-air threats. Ultimately, Iran's air-defense systems did not appear to fire at the U.S. aircraft on their way in and out of Iranian airspace, Pentagon officials said. Advertisement About 2:10 a.m. local time, Caine said, the lead B-2 bomber dropped the first two GBU-57 MOPs on the Fordow facility. The 30,000-pound precision-guided bombs are designed to destroy subterranean targets. In total, seven B-2s dropped 14 bombs at Fordow and Natanz, according to officials. Satellite images taken Sunday morning show two clusters of three entry points along the ridge above the Fordow facility, according to experts who reviewed imagery of the aftermath. In an image provided by Maxar Technologies, a crater is visible over the underground Natanz Enrichment Facility after it was hit by United States airstrikes, near Natanz, Iran, on Sunday, June 22, 2025. SATELLITE IMAGE ©2025 MAXAR TEC/NYT The analysts said the strikes appear to have targeted the 250-meter-long cascade hall - the main part of the facility where the centrifuges are located - which was built into the mountain and later covered. Clustering several munitions around a single point of impact is a common targeting method for destroying bunkers and well-hardened structures, said Wes Bryant, the former chief of civilian harm assessments at the Pentagon's Civilian Protection Center of Excellence. Satellite images from the days before the U.S. strike showed 'unusual truck and vehicular activity' at Fordow, according to a senior analyst at the satellite firm Maxar Technologies. On Thursday, there were 16 cargo trucks along the access road leading to the underground military complex. Images taken the next day show that most of the trucks had moved a little more than a half-mile northwest, farther from the facility, according to the analysis. Other trucks and bulldozers were positioned near the site's entrance, including one truck directly next to it. Spencer Faragasso, senior research fellow at the Institute for Science and International Security, who reviewed an image taken Saturday before the strikes, said among other reasons, the Iranians may have backfilled the tunnels as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of hazardous material. Advertisement This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a close view of the Isfahan nuclear technology in Iran after U.S. strikes, Monday, June 22, 2025. Uncredited/Associated Press 'They probably shut things down and removed what they could, then sealed it up,' Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Project at the Middlebury Institute's James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said in a message, leaving Washington and Jerusalem to play 'whack-a-mole with Iran.' Now, the tunnel entrances near where trucks were seen appear to be filled with dirt, either from the shock wave of the bombing or from previous Iranian activity. A coating of gray-blue ash made of debris from the facility lays across the sand. Jonathan Baran, Alex Horton and Souad Mekhennet contributed to this report.

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