Did US strikes wipe out Iran’s nuclear facilities? Chinese military experts sceptical
Trump says attacks ‘obliterated’ key sites, but analysts raise doubts about bunker buster’s abilities and whether uranium was present
The mainland is believed to have the world’s most extensive underground bunker systems and has developed its own bunker-busting weapons, with ambitions to target facilities including those deep within the mountains of Taiwan.
CNN reported on Tuesday that an assessment by the Defence Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s intelligence arm, was at odds with Trump’s claim that Iran’s enrichment sites – Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan – were “completely and totally obliterated”.
While the full extent of the damage and its implications for Iran’s nuclear ambitions are still unclear, Chinese analysts agreed that the strikes were limited in effectiveness.
They cited factors including the gap between the depth of Iran’s underground facilities and the penetration capabilities of the bombs used, and reports that Tehran might have removed enriched uranium ahead of the attacks.
“The Fordow facility is buried about 80 to 90 metres underground, so there was a gap there,” he added. “In the end, the US likely didn’t achieve the intended operational goal.”