Overview

• Israel Defence Forces struck Natanz and Isfahan last Friday under Operation Rising Lion, with the IAEA and UN watchdog Rafael Grossi confirming severe damage to both enrichment sites.
• The Fordo facility, buried under about 300 feet of rock near Qom, continues uranium enrichment at near–weapons-grade levels and has sustained no notable damage.
• The only conventional weapon capable of reaching the Fordo core is the 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator carried by US B-2 stealth bombers.
• President Trump and his National Security Council have debated using the Massive Ordnance Penetrator but have not yet authorized a strike on Fordo.
• In the absence of US bunker‐buster support, Israel is preparing surgical attacks on Fordo’s access tunnels, ventilation shafts and power infrastructure to disrupt its operations.