In recent days, a heated dispute has erupted between former U.S. President Donald Trump and the American media regarding the outcome of a strike on Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility. At the heart of the conflict is whether the facility was completely destroyed by the use of America’s most powerful bunker-busting bombs, the GBU-57s (Massive Ordnance Penetrators), dropped by B-2 bombers.
What Does Trump Claim?
Donald Trump insists that the Fordow site was completely destroyed and that Iran’s uranium enrichment program was set back by decades. According to him, even Israeli intelligence operatives inspected the site and confirmed total destruction deep underground. He calls it an “obliteration,” citing internal sources and satellite images.
What Are the Military and Media Saying?
However, U.S. media outlets, citing a leaked classified intelligence report, cast doubt on Trump’s version. General Dan Kaine stated that one of the pilots from a supporting aircraft said, “This was the brightest explosion I’ve ever seen — like daylight.” But here lies the contradiction: the GBU-57 is not a surface bomb. It's designed to penetrate up to 60 meters of concrete or 120 meters of earth before detonating underground. So how could a flash that bright have been seen?
How Does the GBU-57 Work?
The GBU-57, also known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, weighs over 30,000 pounds, is more than six meters long, and is engineered specifically to destroy hardened underground facilities. It buries deep beneath the earth or concrete before detonating. On the surface, only narrow penetration holes or minor cave-ins should be visible — not huge craters, and certainly not massive flashes of light.
Is Fordow an Impossible Target?
Open-source information places the Fordow nuclear facility 80–100 meters underground, beneath solid rock. This depth exceeds the GBU-57’s rated capacity. Even comparing rock to concrete, this depth appears to be beyond what the bomb is designed to penetrate. This raises serious doubts about whether the weapon could have reached the facility at all.
Satellite Photos: Proof or Distraction?
Post-strike satellite photos do show six penetration points — expected results for GBU-57s — but not large surface destruction. These are holes, not craters. As General Kaine himself stated, these bombs do not create surface craters. So the question arises: if the bombs exploded that deep underground, how could pilots have seen a flash “as bright as the sun”?
Propaganda, Disinformation, or Miscommunication?
Could General Kaine be misrepresenting the facts? Or is he simply repeating what pilots reported — regardless of whether it physically adds up? If a flash really was seen, it raises the possibility that the bombs didn’t penetrate as planned, or that a different weapon was used.
Was the Uranium Even There?
Satellite photos taken days before the attack show trucks at the facility entrances. Iranian officials later stated that enriched uranium had been removed. So was there even anything left to destroy? Some sources claim Iran’s nuclear program was only set back a few months — not decades, as Trump claimed.
Conclusion
Was Iran’s Fordow nuclear site destroyed? Right now, the truth remains murky. The claim that pilots saw a “sun-like flash” contradicts the nature of the weapon used. Even if the facility was hit, there’s no clear public evidence of what damage was done — or if any uranium remained to be destroyed.
This is a case where political narratives, intelligence leaks, and military statements clash — leaving the public to decipher fact from fiction. I will continue to investigate and report everything I can.
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