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Fordow site President's reservations over 'bunker buster' bomb
The Guardian
|June 20, 2025
Donald Trump has suggested to defence officials that it would make sense for the US to launch strikes against Iran only if the so-called "bunker buster" bomb was guaranteed to destroy the critical uranium enrichment facility at Fordow, according to people familiar with the deliberations.
Trump was told that dropping the 13.6-tonne (30,000lb) GBU-57s would effectively eliminate Fordow, but he reportedly is not convinced, and has held off authorising strikes as he also awaits the possibility that the threat of US involvement could lead Iran to talks.
The effectiveness of the GBU-57 has been a contentious topic at the Pentagon since the start of Trump's term, according to two defence officials, who were briefed that perhaps only a tactical nuclear weapon would be capable of destroying Fordow because of how deeply it is located.
Trump is not considering using a tactical nuclear weapon on Fordow and the possibility was not presented by the defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Dan Caine, in meetings in the White House situation room, two people familiar with the matter said.
This story is from the June 20, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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