Deep beneath a mountain, lots of of centrifuges spin, enriching Iran’s uranium that Israel suspects is destined for a nuclear weapon.
The Fordow plant is protected by tonnes upon tonnes of dust and rock, far-off from prying eyes – and overseas missiles.
However as Israeli warplanes fly unchecked above Tehran, with a lot of the Islamic Republic’s air defences turned to smoking ruins on the bottom, consideration has moved to the secretive facility.
Some say solely the American B-2 stealth bomber and its huge payload might breach the so-called “nuclear mountain”, whereas others argue troops on the bottom would possibly be capable to infiltrate its corridors. Or possibly it’s merely inconceivable, in need of a nuclear strike.
Iran has repeatedly denied that it’s in search of a nuclear weapon and the top of the UN’s nuclear watchdog mentioned in June that it has no proof of a “systematic effort to move into a nuclear weapon”.
Picture:
A satellite tv for pc picture reveals the Fordow nuclear facility. Pic: Maxar Applied sciences/Reuters
What’s the Fordow facility?
The Fordow enrichment plant is one among three key items of nuclear infrastructure in Iran – the others being the Natanz enrichment plant and analysis amenities in Isfahan.
It’s considered buried round 80m deep into the aspect of the mountain. It was beforehand protected by Iranian and Russian surface-to-air missile methods, however these could have wholly or partially knocked out throughout Israel’s latest assaults.
Building is believed to have began in round 2006 and it first turned operational in 2009 – the identical yr Tehran publicly acknowledged its existence.
Picture:
Key websites at Fordow together with tunnel entrances
In November 2020, it was believed there have been 1,057 centrifuges at Fordow. These are used to separate isotopes and enhance the focus of uranium-235, wanted for nuclear gasoline and weapons.
In 2023, the Worldwide Atomic Vitality Company (IAEA) – the nuclear watchdog – discovered uranium particles enriched to 83.7% purity – close to the 90% wanted for a bomb – at Fordow, the one Iranian facility the place this has been discovered.
In June 2024, the Washington Put up reported on a significant enlargement at Fordow, with almost 1,400 new centrifuges earmarked for the subterranean facility.
Please use Chrome browser for a extra accessible video participant
1:51
Iran ambassador: ‘That is about self defence’
Will Israel attempt to destroy Fordow?
Israel has made no secret of its need to cripple or take away Iran’s nuclear programme, describing it as an existential risk.
There may be a lot that is still elsewhere in Iran that’s able to producing and utilizing nuclear materials.
“But of course the real big piece remains at Fordow still and this has been in the headlines quite a bit,” says Dr Alexander Bollfrass, an knowledgeable on nuclear weapons from the Worldwide Institute for Strategic Research (IISS) thinktank.
There may be additionally the prospect that an elevated deal with diplomacy brings the warfare to an finish earlier than the IDF could make a run at Fordow.
Picture:
Centrifuge machines at Natanz – much like ones held at Fordow. Pic: AP
Might bunker buster bombs be used?
There was numerous speak about bunker buster bombs. These are munitions that explode twice – as soon as to breach the bottom floor and once more as soon as the bomb has burrowed all the way down to a sure depth.
The Israelis used 60 to 80 of them within the strike that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in September final yr, in keeping with Martin “Sammy” Sampson, a former air marshal and govt director on the IISS.
However Nasrallah was solely 10-15m underground, Mr Sampson mentioned, whereas Fordow is believed to be 80m beneath the floor.
“An awful lot of planes would be in the same place for an awful long time” to drop sufficient bombs to have an opportunity of attending to the buried facility, he added.
Picture:
A GBU-57 bunker buster bomb seen in 2023. File pic: US Air Pressure/AP
There may be additionally the likelihood that the US, which operates the far more highly effective GBU-57 bomb, might help with any operation at Fordow.
“My sense is that it would still take multiple strikes,” Mr Sampson mentioned, placing it in “more and more unknown territory”.
“It would be pretty disastrous… if you put 400 planes over the top of Fordow, or you put the might of the US over Fordow, and it survived.”
Israel’s ‘contingencies’ for coping with Fordow
Israel has advised that it might destroy or cripple Fordow with out utilizing bombs dropped from the air.
Talking to Sky’s Yalda Hakim earlier this week, former Mossad director of intelligence Zohar Palti mentioned it was “much easier for the Americans to do it”, presumably referring to the GBU-57.
“But as you see, we know how to run things alone,” he added. “And if we need to do some other stuff alone, we will do it.”
Please use Chrome browser for a extra accessible video participant
23:28
Sky’s Yalda Hakim speaks to Zohar Palti
Comply with The World
Take heed to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim each Wednesday
Faucet to comply with
Israel’s ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, mentioned final weekend that Israel has “a number of contingencies… which will enable us to deal with Fordow”.
There was discuss of utilizing particular forces to raid the ability on the bottom, however that has its downsides as nicely.
“This would be an incredibly high risk mission if you were to do something on the ground,” mentioned Mr Sampson.
There may be additionally the likelihood Israel might replicate what occurred on the Natanz enrichment plant, the place the IAEA mentioned 15,000 centrifuges had been doubtless destroyed within the IDF bombardment of Iran.
This was presumably resulting from an Israeli airstrike disrupting the ability provide to the centrifuges, slightly than precise bodily harm to the centrifuge corridor, in keeping with the nuclear watchdog.
