Latest news with #Fordow
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Trump denies report that he has approved US attack plans against Iran
Donald Trump has denied a report in the Wall Street Journal that he has approved US plans to attack Iran, saying that the news outlet has 'no idea' what his thinking is concerning the Israel-Iran conflict The Journal reported late on Wednesday that Trump told senior aides a day earlier that he had approved attack plans but was delaying on giving the final order to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear program. The report cited three anonymous officials. On Thursday, Trump responded to the report, posting on Truth Social: 'The Wall Street Journal has No Idea what my thoughts are concerning Iran!' But Trump's decision is dependent on whether the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) would destroy the Fordow uranium enrichment site, a US official told Axios. Fordow, which is built into a mountain south of Tehran, is a target of Israel's, but they lack the 'bunker-buster bombs' and aircraft needed to destroy it; the US has access to both. 'We're going to be ready to strike Iran. We're not convinced yet that we're necessary. And we want to be unnecessary, but I think the president's just not convinced we are needed yet,' a US official told the outlet. A day earlier, on Wednesday, Trump told reporters: 'I have ideas on what to do but I haven't made a final – I like to make the final decision one second before it's due. 'I may do it, I may not do it,' he added, referring to direct involvement. 'The next week is going to be very big, maybe less than a week.' Iran's mission to the UN issued a statement saying: 'Iran does NOT negotiate under duress, shall NOT accept peace under duress, and certainly NOT with a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance.' Uncertainty around direct US involvement in the conflict comes as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called Trump 'a great friend of Israel' and thanked him 'for standing by us'. The Pentagon has sent multiple warships to the Middle East, including three navy destroyers and two carrier strike groups, while the state department has ramped up assistance to US citizens advised to leave the region. Trump's denial of the Journal's report comes as a heated split in the Make America great again coalition over support for a strike on Iran appeared to be cooling. Both the former Fox primetime host Tucker Carlson and former White House political strategist Steve Bannon had expressed concern that another Middle East military engagement in Iran would run counter to Maga's 'America First' policies. Bannon said on Wednesday that Trump could win over Maga doubters if he made the case for Iran engagement directly to the American people. Trump also said that Carlson called him to apologize for saying that he 'is complicit in an act of war'. 'Tucker's a nice guy. He called and apologized the other day because he thought he said things that were a little bit too strong and I appreciated that,' Trump said on Wednesday from the White House.
The Sun
7 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Dramatic moment Iran's only working nuke reactor is BLOWN UP in Israel blitz – as Trump aims crosshairs at ‘Mount Doom'
THIS is the dramatic moment Israel blows up one of Iran's nuclear reactors with a surgical missile strike. Another plant, the infamous "Mount Doom" at Fordow, remains untouched, but could soon face the US's mighty bunker busting bombs if Trump says the word. 9 9 9 Footage shows the heavy water reactor - known as Arak but renamed Khondab - lying in night-vision cross hairs during the sixth night of heavy missile exchange. A missile darts in from above and strikes right at the heart of the sprawling plant. Smoke and flames erupt from the impact site and envelop the whole facility in a huge cloud. The site was "inactive" as it was yet to be completed, but the IDF insisted it had to be taken out because it was designed to cultivate plutonium for use in nuclear weapons. The military said: "The strike targeted the component intended for plutonium production, in order to prevent the reactor from being restored and used for nuclear weapons development." High-yield plutonium is a material that can be used to fashion nuclear weapons. Iranian media reported that air defences were activated in the area and that projectiles landed in the vicinity. Officials told state TV that the site was evacuated and there was no casualties or risk of radiation. Alongside Arak, Israel has confirmed strikes on the reactors at Natanz and Isfahan. An IDF spokesperson later said that fighter jets had also struck the Bushehr nuclear power plant - which is the only working one in the country. Trump 'has APPROVED Iran attack plans & is ready to give orders' as Israel 'strikes reactor' & Tehran hits hospital But in a U-turn, the IDF then retracted the claim, with a spokesperson saying: "It was a mistake," and that he could not confirm nor deny that the facility had been targeted. The head of Russia's nuclear energy corporation warned that an Israeli attack on Bushehr could lead to a "Chornobyl-style catastrophe". Iran has reported Israel to the the UN's nuclear watchdog over the strikes against its nuclear sites. The regime accused Israel of "continuing its aggression and actions contrary to international laws that prohibit attacks on nuclear facilities". After days of speculation, Trump approved plans to attack Iran but is holding off in case Tehran agrees to abandon its nuclear programme, reports the Wall Street Journal. If given the go-ahead, the plans would see the US join Israel in pounding Iran's nuke sites - which Tehran has warned would spark "all out war". The UK is yet to declare whether it would stand with the US if it committed, as Attorney General Lord Hermer questions the legality of Israel's action, according to Sky, and Starmer held a Cobra meeting. 9 9 Trump still refuses to confirm his plans in public, however: "I may do it, I may not do it," he said on Wednesday. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minster, Kazem Gharibabadi, hit back: 'If the US wants to actively intervene in support of Israel, Iran will have no other option but to use its tools to teach aggressors a lesson and defend itself." Iran's Fordow nuclear development plant is likely to be the prime target of any imminent US airstrikes. Israel doesn't have the weapons to strike the core of the mountain fortress site, but the US has a fearsome 15-ton mega bomb, known as a Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bomb, which could bust it open. Trump acknowledged the US is the only nation capable of blitzing the key nuke site, but added: "That doesn't mean I'm going to do it - at all." 9 9 9 The giant plant, 125 miles south of capital Tehran is encased in steel more than 300 feet beneath solid rock and has so far escaped serious damage. Defence Analyst Paul Beaver told The Sun: ' Israel will need literally to move a mountain to hit the plant. 'It's protected by at least 90 metres of solid rock and has so far escaped serious damage. 'Options are to repeatedly bomb it for weeks until a breakthrough is achieved or a fultline is hit or launch an extremely risky ground offensive. 'But the Israeli military never ceases to amaze - and they may even have troops on the ground waiting to attack Fordow already.' 9
Bloomberg
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Why US Bunker-Busting Bombs Are Key to Israel's Iran Goals
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.
Irish Times
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Israel-Iran: Trump caution on US involvement linked to doubts about ‘bunker buster' bomb
Donald Trump has suggested to defence officials it would make sense for the US to launch strikes against Iran only if the so-called 'bunker buster' bomb was guaranteed to destroy the critical uranium enrichment facility at Fordow, according to people familiar with the deliberations. Mr Trump was told that dropping the GBU-57s, a 13.6-tonne bomb would effectively eliminate Fordow, but he does not appear to be fully convinced, the people said, and has held off authorising strikes as he also awaits the possibility that the threat of US involvement would lead Iran to talks. The effectiveness of GBU-57s has been a topic of deep contention at the Pentagon since the start of Mr Trump's term, according to two defence officials who were briefed that perhaps only a tactical nuclear weapon could be capable of destroying Fordow because of how deeply it is buried. Mr Trump is not considering using a tactical nuclear weapon on Fordow and the possibility was not briefed by defence secretary Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Gen Dan Caine in meetings in the White House situation room, two people familiar with the matter said. READ MORE But the defence officials who received the briefing were told that using conventional bombs, even as part of a wider strike package of several GBU-57s, would not penetrate deep enough underground and that it would only do enough damage to collapse tunnels and bury it under rubble. Fordo nuclear site in Iran Those in the briefing heard that completely destroying Fordow, which Israeli intelligence estimates to go down as far as 90m, would require the US to soften the ground with conventional bombs and then ultimately drop a tactical nuclear bomb from a B2 bomber to wipe out the entire facility, a scenario Mr Trump is not considering. The assessments were made by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), a component of the defence department that tested the GBU-57, as it reviewed the limitations of US military ordinance against a number of underground facilities. The situation underscores the complex nature of such a strike and what success would entail: dropping GBU-57s would likely set back Iran's ability to obtain weapons-grade uranium for up to a few years, but not end the programme completely. Spokespeople for the White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Taking Fordow offline – either diplomatically or militarily – is seen as central to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found the site had enriched uranium to 83.7 per cent – close to the 90 per cent needed for nuclear weapons. Any effort to destroy Fordow would require US involvement because Israel does not possess the ordnance to strike a facility that deep or the planes to carry them. The difficulty with using the GBU-57 to target Fordow, according to the two officials familiar with the DTRA briefing, lies in part with the characteristics of the facility which is buried inside a mountain – and the fact that the bomb has never been used in a comparable situation before. 'It would not be a one and done,' a former DTRA deputy director, retired Maj Gen Randy Manner, said of the GBU-57's limitations, adding that Fordow could be quickly rebuilt. 'It might set the programme back six months to a year. It sounds good for TV but it's not real.' The bomb is commonly known as a 'bunker buster' because it was designed to destroy underground bunkers, but it can be carried only by a B2 bomber that has air superiority and requires a solid GPS signal to lock in on its target. While Israel has said it has established air superiority over Iran, a successful strike would still require any GPS jammers and other defences to be taken out in advance, and for the GBU-57 to penetrate deep enough into the ground to neutralise the facility. Iran built the nuclear enrichment facility at Fordow underground to protect it from the threat of aerial attacks. In 1981, Israel bombed a nuclear facility near Baghdad that was located above ground in order to stop Iraq developing nuclear weapons. In recent years, Israel has devised a variety of plans to destroy Fordow without the help of the United States. In one instance, Israel proposed loading helicopters with commandos who could fight their way into the facility and blow it up – an option that Mr Trump has dismissed, according to people familiar with the matter. – Guardian
Bloomberg
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Can Israel Disable Iran's Fordow Without US Help? Some Say Yes.
As the world awaits US President Donald Trump's decision on whether to join Israel in attacking Iran's nuclear program, many experts argue that Israel simply can't do the job alone. Its military lacks the heavy bombs and B-2 stealth jets needed to penetrate the uranium enrichment hall at the Fordow site hidden deep under a mountain near the holy city of Qom, whose destruction is viewed as key.
