Media: “Bunker buster” bomb’s limits stall Trump’s Iran military plans

President Donald Trump has expressed caution over authorizing a US strike on Iran’s deeply buried nuclear enrichment facility at Fordow, primarily due to skepticism about the effectiveness of the “bunker buster” bomb designed to destroy it, defence officials reveal.

Trump has indicated to military advisors that any attack on Fordow should only proceed if the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP)—a 13.6-ton (30,000lb) bomb—could be guaranteed to obliterate the uranium enrichment site. Although he was briefed that deploying the GBU-57 would likely neutralize the facility, he remains unconvinced and has refrained from authorizing strikes, awaiting a diplomatic opening that could prompt Iran to negotiate, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

The bomb’s capacity has been fiercely debated within the Pentagon since Trump took office. Officials familiar with Defence Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) assessments say only a tactical nuclear weapon might fully destroy Fordow due to its location nearly 300 feet (90 meters) underground inside a mountain. However, Trump is not considering such a nuclear strike, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine did not brief him on that option.

Briefings warned that conventional bombs—even multiple GBU-57s—would likely fail to penetrate deeply enough, only collapsing tunnels and burying the site in rubble rather than annihilating it. “It would not be a one and done,” said retired Maj. Gen. Randy Manner, former DTRA deputy director. “It might set the program back six months to a year. It sounds good for TV but it’s not real.”

The GBU-57 requires deployment by a B2 bomber with air superiority and a reliable GPS signal, both conditions that pose operational challenges. Although Israel claims air superiority over Iran, neutralizing GPS jammers and defenses remains critical.

Iran built Fordow underground precisely to shield it from aerial attacks, contrasting with the 1981 Israeli airstrike on Iraq’s above-ground nuclear site near Baghdad. Israel has considered alternative methods, including commando raids via helicopter, but Trump reportedly dismissed such options.

Destroying Fordow is crucial to halting Iran’s near-weapon-grade uranium enrichment, with the International Atomic Energy Agency reporting uranium purity at 83.7 per cent, close to weapons-grade levels. A US strike is deemed essential since Israel lacks the ordnance and aircraft capability to carry out such a deep underground attack independently.

By Vafa Guliyeva