Inside Iran's Fordow nuclear site: Buried 260ft in a mountain

What is alarming is its capability to enrich uranium to weapons grade

- BY STEPHEN N. R.

At the centre of the escalating Iran-Israel conflict stands Iran's most secretive and fortified nuclear site: The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant.

Hidden deep beneath a mountain near the city of Qom, Fordow is one of Iran's most protected nuclear facilities. Its underground construction — buried 80 (260 feet) to 90 metres below the surface — makes it virtually immune to aerial strikes, even from Israel's most advanced bunker-buster bombs.

Built in secrecy and exposed only in 2009 through Western intelligence, Fordow was designed for survival, especially in the event of military action targeting Iran's nuclear programme.