US, Israel cannot control Iran's nuclear ambitions

Iran reportedly evacuated centrifuges and uranium from its nuclear facilities before the US attack. It has also accumulated nuclear knowledge over several decades.

US President Donald Trump said the US airstrikes on June 21 “completely destroyed” Iran’s Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities. However, the extent of the damage and the long-term impact on Iran’s nuclear program remain unclear.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) confirmed that the attacks took place at the Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz facilities, but insisted that its nuclear program would not be stopped.

The real damage is unknown.

The US attack, codenamed Night Hammer, was carried out by seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers flying from the US and an Ohio-class submarine. The aircraft dropped a total of 14 GBU-57 bombs, each weighing about 14 tons and carrying a 2.5-ton warhead, on Iran's nuclear facilities.

On June 22, the US announced how to carry out Operation Night Hammer targeting three Iranian nuclear facilities. Photo: Reuters .

Fordow, the hardest of Iran's nuclear facilities, which houses uranium enrichment equipment, was the primary target of the operation. Reports said the site was 45-90 meters below bedrock.

Video from the scene showed a fire shortly after the attack, and satellite imagery from June 22 showed some signs of damage but was not yet conclusive, according to The Guardian . Specifically, the terrain of one area appeared to have become flatter than flat, and there were some broken rocks near two bomb craters.

Two Israeli officials told the New York Times that there was serious damage at Fordow, but the site was not completely destroyed. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said that neither the agency nor anyone else could assess the extent of the underground damage.

Satellite images of the Fordow nuclear facility after the US attack on June 21 show bomb craters and changes in the terrain, but the extent of the damage is not yet known. Photo: Maxar .

The Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center was hit by Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from submarines. Video posted on social media showed an explosion at the site on June 21.

According to the IAEA, in addition to the four buildings previously hit by Israeli airstrikes, six more buildings at the facility were damaged after June 21, including a uranium fuel rod production facility. However, the facilities attacked in Isfahan either contained no nuclear material or contained only small amounts of natural uranium or low-enriched uranium.

Natanz had already been damaged by the first Israeli airstrikes of the conflict. Assessments at the time suggested that Israel had struck the plant that powered the centrifuges. It appears that Natanz’s underground uranium enrichment centrifuge site was the target of the June 21 airstrike. Satellite imagery from the strike showed new damage to above-ground buildings and a new crater in the center of the site.

Iran's nuclear program is not destroyed yet

Iran claims that it evacuated the facilities days ago, and satellite imagery from several days ago shows unusual truck movement at Fordow. Three days before the US strikes, 16 cargo trucks were seen near the tunnel leading to Fordow.

Iran had previously announced on May 22 that it was planning to take "special measures" to protect its uranium stockpile in case of an Israeli attack.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi visits an exhibition of Iran's nuclear achievements in April 2025. Iran has so far gathered a lot of technical knowledge in its decades-long nuclear program. Photo: Reuters .

To date, the IAEA remains unaware of the details of these measures and has lost track of the location of Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpile, as repeated Israeli military strikes have prevented inspections.

Hassan Abedini, an official with Iran's state television, said Iran had evacuated all three nuclear sites long ago. "The uranium stockpile has been removed from the nuclear centers and there is no material left there that could cause radiation and affect people," he said.

AEOI director Mohammad Eslami said this month that Iran has another nuclear enrichment facility “in a secure and invulnerable location” where centrifuges could be placed. Iran also has thousands of scientists and engineers working at dozens of different sites across the country.

Analysts have long argued that while it is possible to physically disrupt a nuclear facility and cripple a nuclear program through attacks and assassinations, the technical knowledge Iran has acquired over its decades-long nuclear program is indestructible.

The question is whether the US-Israeli strikes will be enough to force Iran to surrender, or whether they will encourage the Iranian regime to accelerate its efforts to produce nuclear weapons.

Source: https://znews.vn/my-israel-chua-the-kiem-soat-tham-vong-hat-nhan-cua-iran-post1562724.html