Source: BS
Context: The Fordow nuclear facility in Iran is back in focus amid escalating Israel-Iran tensions, with reports highlighting that only the US GBU-57 bunker buster bomb could potentially destroy the fortified site.
About Fordow Nuclear Facility:
- What is Fordow?
- Fordow is Iran’s most heavily fortified underground uranium enrichment facility, key to its potential nuclear weapons program.
- Location: Situated near Qom, southwest of Tehran, the site is buried 80 metres deep into a mountain.
- Structural Features:
- Deep underground facility reinforced with soil, rock, and concrete.
- Surrounded by multi-layered air defence systems, including Iranian and Russian missiles.
- Designed to be impervious to standard military airstrikes.
- Operational Since: 2009 (confirmed by IAEA).
- Significance:
- Hosts enrichment of uranium up to 60%, dangerously close to weapons-grade.
- Plays a central role in Iran’s breakout potential for nuclear weapons.
- Symbol of Iran’s resistance to Western nuclear oversight.
