US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the US military had carried out a “very successful” attack on three nuclear sites in Iran. Experts told the Global Times on Sunday that the true effectiveness of the operation remains unclear, and that the strikes may not have been sufficient to completely destroy Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.
Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that the US had carried out strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran located in Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. According to a Reuters report, a US official stated that B-2 bombers were involved in the strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites.
Li Zixin, an assistant research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times that the Fordow nuclear facility lies nearly100 meters underground, and that making it extremely difficult to destroy completelywith just one or two strikes, even using bunker-buster bombs.
Zhang Junshe, a military affairs expert, shared a similar view. He said the first wave of US strikes may not have been sufficient to destroy Iran’s underground nuclear facilities. For example, the Fordow site lies 90 meters beneath solid rock, making it highly resistant. While Israel sees it as a key target, it lacks the means to strike it effectively.
The US uses B-2 bombers armed with 30,000-pound GBU-57 bunker busters, which is believed to be able to penetrate only about 65 meters. In theory, two bombs used in sequence might be needed, but this tactic has never been publicly tested, so the success of the initial strike remains uncertain, the expert noted.
An official from Iran’s state television also said in a live broadcast that Iran evacuated these three nuclear sites a “while ago.” Appearing on state-run television, he said Iran “didn’t suffer a major blow because the materials had already been taken out,” BBC reported.
“This further demonstrates the difficulty for the US military to completely destroy Iran’s nuclear materials,” Zhang added. He explained that regardless of whether the Fordow facility was fully destroyed in the first wave of strikes, it is clear that the US airstrikes inflicted substantial damage to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
“B-2 strategic bombers, armed with bunker-busting weapons, are far more powerful than the bombs and missiles carried by Israel’s F-15, F-16, and F-35 fighter jets. Therefore, the damage inflicted by the US is undoubtedly far greater than what Israel could achieve. Against this backdrop, whether Iran’s nuclear facilities can be preserved remains uncertain,” Zhang said.
Li said that this suggests that the US strikes on Iran may not be a one-time operation. “In the coming days, the US may further escalate its attacks on key Iranian facilities,” he said. At the same time, the international affairs scholar noted that neither side wants the situation to spiral out of control. Therefore, US strikes are likely to remain limited in scope, focusing primarily on specific nuclear sites rather than launching large-scale attacks on Iran’s other infrastructure. GT
