Tehran: New satellite imagery has brought the world’s attention to the aftermath of the U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility, a site long shrouded in secrecy and shielded by the rugged mountains of Qom province. The images, captured by commercial satellites like Maxar and Planet Labs, depict clear surface destruction, but raise more questions than answers regarding the fate of the deeply buried centrifuge infrastructure within the facility.
Fordow, a once-secret enrichment plant hidden under nearly 80 meters of solid rock, was targeted in a surprise joint U.S.-Israeli operation launched over the weekend. The Pentagon confirmed that B-2 stealth bombers released at least 14 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs on the facility in successive waves. The Fordow strikes followed earlier Israeli raids and were part of a broader offensive that also targeted the Natanz and Isfahan nuclear centers.
The released images show a series of fresh craters and disturbed terrain over the mountain believed to house Fordow’s uranium enrichment chambers. Intelligence sources and weapons analysts suggest that these impact zones were caused by deep-penetrating munitions designed specifically to pierce fortified underground structures. However, despite the visible external damage, experts caution that satellite visuals cannot confirm whether the core of Iran’s underground centrifuge network was effectively destroyed.
David Albright, founder of the Institute for Science and International Security, warned that while the cratering is “extensive and precisely placed,” it does not conclusively demonstrate the collapse of underground tunnels or the dismantling of enrichment systems. “We may be seeing a delay in Iran’s capabilities, not their total elimination,” he noted.
Adding to the mystery is evidence suggesting Iran may have anticipated the strike. Intelligence reports indicate significant vehicle movement and possible evacuation activity at Fordow days before the bombing. This raises the possibility that enriched uranium and key equipment may have been relocated in time to minimize the operational setback. A senior Iranian source reportedly told Reuters that most of the facility’s 60% enriched stockpile had already been moved to an undisclosed location prior to the airstrike.
In Tehran, the political fallout has been swift. Iran’s parliament is now actively debating whether to withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and expel International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors. The Iranian Atomic Energy Organization has condemned the attack as a “blatant violation of international law” and claimed it was executed with “collusion” from international monitoring agencies an accusation flatly denied by the IAEA.
The strike has also rattled diplomatic efforts in the region. While Washington described the operation as a limited strike to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions, global powers have expressed concern that it could lead to a new cycle of conflict. European leaders have called for immediate de-escalation, and the UN Security Council has scheduled an emergency session to assess the legal and geopolitical consequences of the attack.
Meanwhile, military analysts say that while the strike inflicted substantial visible damage and sent a strong strategic message, it might not have ended Iran’s nuclear ambitions. “What this does is push Iran’s program deeper underground and further into secrecy,” said Decker Eveleth, a research fellow specializing in satellite intelligence. “It could mark the beginning of a harder-to-track, more hardened Iranian nuclear infrastructure.”
The strike on Fordow, hailed by some as a decisive military achievement, may ultimately lead to more covert and less transparent proliferation activities. As uncertainty looms over the extent of internal destruction, what remains clear is that the U.S.-Iran nuclear confrontation has now crossed a dangerous new threshold one that could reshape the Middle East’s security landscape for years to come.