The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant is an underground fortress and the focal point of Iran’s nuclear aspirations; it is located near the holy city of Qom, beneath the craggy face of Mount Alvand. Despite its civilian facade, Israeli intelligence suspects that Tehran’s clandestine atomic weapons program is headquartered in Fordow.
The Islamic Republic has been engaging in risky behavior for quite some time now, using regional instability to further its aspirations while refining uranium to a level just below weapons-grade and evading monitoring from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Despite its history of dealing with nuclear threats, Israel is unprepared to deactivate Fordow due of its insufficient bunker-busting capabilities. The onus is now on America to shoulder that duty. There is an immediate and compelling need to eliminate Fordow.
Fordow: The Core of Iran’s Nuclear Calculus
Natanz is the most openly located of Iran’s nuclear facilities; Arak has been partially repurposed; and Esfahan and Parchin are two of the most important sites for research. However, Fordow is unique. Advanced IR-6 centrifuges that can enrich uranium at faster rates are housed there, hidden under approximately 80 meters of rock. This location is Iran’s strategic wager on invulnerability, designed to withstand conventional airstrikes.
Fordow was finally brought to light in 2009 after years of secrecy by Western intelligence. There is a nuclear weapons program in Iran, and the officials there “have backed up their genocidal rhetoric with a nuclear weapons program,” according to Prime Minister Netanyahu. He said that if the program is not halted, Iran may quickly create nuclear weapons. One year is possible. It can happen within the next several months or perhaps the next year. Despite his assertion that Israel’s assault targeted “the core of Iran’s nuclear weaponization infrastructure,” he conceded that the country “lacks the heavy bunker-busting munitions” necessary to eliminate locations such as Fordow, as he told Business Insider.
The fact that Iran had amassed enough uranium enriched to 60%—just a technical heartbeat away from weapons-grade levels—to construct multiple nuclear bombs was verified by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi in 2024. His main point was that the IAEA was not being transparent enough about Iran’s nuclear programs, and he said, “without full Iranian cooperation, the agency cannot verify that its program is peaceful.”
A Web of Misinformation—and Concern
Mossad agents raided a Tehran facility in 2018 and found 55,000 papers that exposed a clandestine nuclear weapons development codenamed “Project Amad.” The data was deemed by Institute for Science and International Security’s David Albright as “clear evidence that Iran intended to produce five nuclear weapons.”
Iranian nuclear activities in Turquzabad, Marivan, and Varamin, three undeclared locations where IAEA inspectors have discovered unexplained traces of nuclear material, persist despite the JCPOA framework. These findings indicate a long-term goal of acquiring weaponry.
“Negative developments regarding Iran’s nuclear program” might force Israel to take action, according to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi’s 2023 warning. Aviv Kochavi, his immediate predecessor, was more forthright: “Iran today has enough enriched material to produce four nuclear bombs, three at 20 percent and one at 60 percent.”
Israel still can’t hit Fordow hard enough, even with the threat. The Israeli ambassador Yechiel Leiter conceded, “We may be able to strike Natanz, but we cannot reach Fordow without American support.”
Possible American Strikes and Why They’re Necessary
It is possible to deactivate Fordow with the help of the United States military. Fordow and other hardened targets are the intended objectives of the 30,000-pound GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). Deployed from the stealth bomber B-2 Spirit, it has the ability to pierce reinforced concrete up to 60 feet in thickness as well as earth and rock up to hundreds of feet thick. If Fordow’s structure were to completely collapse, it might be achieved by precisely delivering many MOPs in a double-tap pattern.
Common components of a strike package are:
Infiltration of facilities like Whiteman AFB or Diego Garcia by stealth B-2 bombers; Electronic suppression of Iranian air defenses; Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) conducted in real-time via satellites and drones;
Further missile attacks using cruise missiles may be required.Although the task must continue after the explosion. It is imperative that the United States demands third-party confirmation of Fordow’s permanent disability. American intelligence assets could collect photos, seismic data, and on-ground confirmation, or the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) may conduct an inspection if authorized. Nothing will change if the world can’t confirm the outcome of the strike.
The Return to Osirak: Insights from 1981
As part of Operation Opera in 1981, Israel destroyed the Osirak reactor in Iraq. At the time, Prime Minister Menachem Begin declared, “Never again will we allow an enemy to develop weapons of mass destruction against the Jewish people.” Despite early condemnation, Saddam Hussein’s ongoing nuclear ambitions were exposed during the Gulf War, which ultimately validated the strike.
The United States is in the same position as Israel: confronted with a serious danger and little time to respond. Iranian proxies in Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon may gain nuclear expertise if Iran is given more time to construct a bomb or strengthen other locations.
Could We Still Go On Strike?
Some think that taking military action may lead to escalating oil prices, a regional conflict, or the hardening of Iran’s hardliners. Even if there are major dangers, they aren’t worse than giving a fanatical government nuclear weapons. Even while Iran has promised vengeance, its economy is weak, there is internal discord, and the possibility of massive U.S. reprisal limits its ability to escalate.
Someone once said, “The classical notion of deterrence was that there was some consequence before which aggressors and evildoers would recoil.” This was Henry Kissinger. For deterrence to work, it has to be credible, and that might mean taking action.
Other nuclear ambitions would be encouraged if we do nothing. Outlaw governments are keeping tabs, from China to North Korea. A regional arms race involving Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt would likely ensue if Iran were to acquire nuclear weapons, which would likely lead to proliferation throughout the Middle East.
How Much Do Nothing Cost?
Iran will retain all of its nuclear knowledge even after a strike on Fordow. The program will be delayed by years, its most secure location will be crippled, and the United States will only intervene when world stability is threatened. The other scenario is that Iran secretly sets off a nuclear weapon and then faces the world with power and impunity.
under such case, the United States would be dragged into a more extensive and brutal conflict, waged under the shadow of nuclear weapons.
In summary,
A fortified monument to Iran’s deceit and resolve, Fordow is more than simply another enrichment complex. Only the United States have the resources and might to destroy it. If this endeavor is to be carried out, it must be exact, comprehensive, and confirmed by third parties.