Satellite imagery captured early Sunday has revealed at least six apparent bomb entry points at Iran’s crucial Fordow uranium enrichment facility, following recent U.S. air strikes on this site along with two others.
According to a visual analysis conducted by The Washington Post and corroborated by multiple experts, these images give the first glimpse into the extent of damage inflicted on one of Iran’s principal nuclear installations.
President Donald Trump stated that the strikes have “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s three key nuclear facilities, including those at Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz.
In contrast, Pentagon officials took a more measured stance during a news conference on Sunday morning, reporting that these facilities sustained “extremely severe damage” and suggesting that there had been a significant “destruction of capabilities” at the Fordow site.
A senior Israeli official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information, shared insights with The Post, noting that preliminary assessments indicated that the Isfahan nuclear site was “annihilated,” while significant damage was reported at both the Fordow and Natanz facilities.
Blast analysts have urged caution in drawing immediate conclusions regarding the impacts of the bombings, underscoring that effects on underground structures are influenced by several factors, such as the depth of detonation and surrounding geology.
Between 1:45 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. local time, satellites designed to monitor fires and severe weather worldwide observed notable heat signatures in proximity to the Fordow facility.
These heat-related events were detected near a location believed to serve as an air defense arrangement connected to the site.
General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed that as U.S. B-2 stealth bombers, equipped with Massive Ordnance Penetrators, approached Fordow and Natanz, American forces deployed “suppression weapons” to neutralize potential Iranian surface-to-air threats.
According to Pentagon sources, Iran’s air-defense systems did not engage the U.S. aircraft while they were in Iranian airspace.
The lead B-2 bomber is reported to have released the first two GBU-57 MOPs above Fordow around 2:10 a.m. local time.
In total, seven B-2 bombers dropped 14 bombs targeting both the Fordow and Natanz sites, according to official statements.
Satellite images reveal two clusters of three impact points aligned along the ridge above the Fordow facility, corroborated by experts who analyzed the imagery.
These strikes seem directed at the 250-meter-long cascade hall, notably the main area where centrifuges are housed, which is embedded in the mountainside and had been later covered.
Experts suggest that clustering multiple munitions on a single impact point is a standard tactic employed for effectively destroying bunkers and heavily fortified structures.
Prior to the U.S. strikes, satellite imagery indicated “unusual truck and vehicular activity” at the Fordow site.
Reports from Thursday highlighted the presence of 16 cargo trucks along the access road to the underground military complex.
Subsequent images captured the following day showed that most of these trucks had relocated over half a mile away from the facility, having been moved northwest.
In addition, several trucks and bulldozers were observed positioned near the site’s entrance, including one truck right adjacent to it.
Spencer Faragasso, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Science and International Security, reviewed pre-strike images and suggested that the Iranian authorities may have taken precautionary measures by backfilling tunnels to mitigate the risk of hazardous materials escaping.
Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Project at the Middlebury Institute’s James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, indicated that it is likely that the Iranians shut down operations, removed whatever materials they could, and then sealed off the facility.
Currently, the tunnel entrances near the areas where trucks were noted are believed to be filled with dirt, likely resulting from either the shockwave of the bombing or preceding Iranian operations.
A layer of gray-blue ash composed of debris from the facility now covers the surrounding sand.
image source from：bostonglobe
