The only country that can touch Iran's 'nuclear fortress'

That was the assertion made by Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter during an interview on Merit TV on June 16.

The Fordow nuclear facility is located deep in the mountains near Qom, northern Iran. It houses advanced centrifuges used to enrich uranium to high purity. The exact depth of the plant is not publicly known, but some previous reports have estimated the facility to be 80 to 90 meters deep.

“For Fordow to be destroyed by a bomb dropped from the outside, the only country in the world that has that bomb is the United States. And that is a decision that the United States has to make, whether or not they actually pursue that path,” Ambassador Leiter said.

Satellite image of the Fordow fuel enrichment plant on June 14. Photo: Maxar Technologies/Getty Images

Rumors have it that the Fordow facility is built so deep underground that it can only be destroyed by a GBU 57/B bunker-buster bomb dropped from a US B-2 bomber.

But that is not the only option for dealing with Fordow, the diplomat said, warning of a military operation this weekend that would hit Iran hard.

In a statement on June 16, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi said that Iran's important nuclear facilities, including Fordow, suffered no damage during the three days of Israeli airstrikes on Iran.

While above-ground buildings at Iran's uranium enrichment site at Natanz have been destroyed, strategic underground sites have not been attacked, Rafael said.

“There has been no further damage at the Natanz fuel enrichment plant site since the June 13 attack,” Rafael stressed.

That contradicts the Israeli military's statement on June 13 after the Israeli air force bombed the Nantaz site, saying that underground facilities at the site had been damaged.

Also in the report, Mr. Rafael said that a second Iranian enrichment facility, at Fordow, was not affected or recorded damage after the attacks.

Israel launched an attack on Iran last weekend to stop a secret Iranian program to build a nuclear bomb. Iran currently has two main enrichment facilities, at Natanz and Fordow. These facilities have accumulated 408.6 kg of 60% enriched uranium.

Military analysts say the two uranium enrichment facilities deep underground at Natanz can withstand all the heaviest weapons Israel has. Destroying them would require multiple strikes with 1.8-ton Rocks missiles or 1.6-ton Air Lora missiles.

With Fordow alone intact, Iran could access its stockpile of 60 percent enriched uranium and produce enough uranium for nine nuclear bombs in the first month, according to David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security.

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