NEW YORK, June 18. /TASS/. Israel would require a heavyweight explosive known as a GBU-57A/B and possessed exclusively by the United States in order to destroy the Iranian underground nuclear facility at Fordow, the New York Post (NYP) reported, citing weapons experts.
The Fordow facility, buried some 90 meters deep inside a mountain, can only be destroyed by a bomb built to specifications that would allow it to penetrate deep enough.
"The United States controls the bomber and the bomb. It would be an American plane and an American munition," Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point military academy John Spencer said, as quoted by the NYP. These bombs "penetrate the ground" before exploding, enabling strikes against subterranean targets. Costing over $500 million per missile to develop, the 5-ton "bunker buster" bomb can only be carried by B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, which the Israeli air force lacks.
According to The Wall Street Journal, 20 of the bombs had been manufactured for the US military by 2013, with Washington consistently declining to share them with any of its allies, including Israel.
Earlier, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that it had satellite imagery confirming that a nuclear facility in the city of Natanz, in central Iran, has been hit with a "direct impact" following an Israeli airstrike. The IAEA also reported that it had not detected any changes at the nuclear facilities in Esfahan and Fordow.
In the early morning hours of June 13, Israel kicked off a military operation aimed against Iran’s nuclear program. Iran responded in less than 24 hours. Israel and Iran have continued exchanging strikes ever since. Both parties reported casualties and damage, and admitted that a number of facilities had been hit.