US avoided using bunker-buster bombs on Iran's nuclear sites buried too deep - CNN
Photo: Nuclear facility in Isfahan was attacked solely with Tomahawk missiles (Getty Images)
Over the weekend, US forces struck three Iranian nuclear sites. However, one of the targets was not hit with bunker-buster bombs, reports CNN.
CNN reported that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said bunker-buster bombs were likely not used because the site is buried too deep underground for them to be effective.
His comments, made during a Thursday briefing, were described by four people. According to CNN, the general's remarks represent the first known explanation for why the US did not use Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs against the site in Isfahan.
CNN recalled that B-2 bombers dropped more than a dozen bunker-buster bombs on nuclear sites in Fordow and Natanz. Isfahan, however, was only targeted with Tomahawk missiles launched from a US submarine.
CNN also noted that Gen. Dan Caine conducted the classified briefing for lawmakers, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. A spokesperson for Caine declined to comment, saying he could not discuss the Chairman's classified briefing to Congress.
During the briefing, the CIA Director told lawmakers that US intelligence believes most of Iran's enriched nuclear material is located in Isfahan and Fordow.
After receiving the briefing, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy told CNN that some of Iran's capabilities "are so far underground that we can never reach them."
"So they have the ability to move a lot of what has been saved into areas where there’s no American bombing capacity that can reach it," he added.
CNN also reported that US officials believe the underground facilities in Isfahan hold nearly 60% of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium. That material could eventually be used to produce a nuclear weapon.
Background
In the early hours of June 22, the US carried out strikes on three key Iranian nuclear sites. US President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed the attack had completely dismantled Tehran's nuclear program.
But a preliminary US intelligence assessment suggested otherwise. CNN reported that core elements of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure were not fully destroyed.
Trump, for his part, criticized CNN and The New York Times, calling their reporting "fake news."
