President Donald Trump has declined to confirm whether the United States will deploy direct military force to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. His silence comes amid growing alarm from security experts who warn that neutralizing Iran’s most fortified nuclear facility is a task only the U.S. military can realistically accomplish.
Tensions escalated after Israel launched a wave of airstrikes against Iran late Thursday. According to the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, one of the key targets—the underground Natanz nuclear facility, buried roughly 36 feet below ground—suffered “direct impact” from the strikes. The full extent of the damage remains unclear.
Notably, Israel did not target the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, widely considered Iran’s most dangerous and impenetrable nuclear site. According to the Institute for Science and International Security, Fordow is capable of producing a nuclear warhead in just two to three days. Experts suggest the omission was strategic: Israel simply lacks the military means to penetrate a facility located up to 300 feet beneath solid rock.
“Fordow isn’t the only key facility, but it’s certainly the most dangerous,” said Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “Taking it out from the air is a mission only the United States can carry out.”
The Fordow site is Iran’s most heavily defended nuclear installation. Constructed deep inside a mountain, it includes dual enrichment halls designed to house approximately 3,000 centrifuges.
Experts believe the only viable option to damage such a fortified structure is through the use of the 30,000-pound GBU-57A/B “bunker buster” bomb—also known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP).
However, even the MOP is estimated to penetrate only about 200 feet of reinforced earth and concrete, raising questions about the feasibility of a full strike without U.S. intervention.
As tensions rise and diplomatic efforts stall, the burden of preventing a nuclear-armed Iran may soon fall squarely on Washington’s shoulders