Trump considers attack on Fordow but wants guarantees on the effectiveness of bunker-buster bombs

US president puts brakes on direct military intervention: ‘Only if we can truly destroy Iran’s nuclear programme’

Donald Trump has not yet given the final go-ahead for US military intervention in the conflict between Israel and Iran. Although he has already approved the operational plans, the American president is seeking precise technical guarantees before ordering the attack: he wants certainty that the 13.6-tonne GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs are truly capable of destroying Iran’s Fordow nuclear site, dug more than 90 metres below a mountain.

According to the IAEA, Iran has stored uranium enriched to 83.7% at the underground Fordow site, a level close to the threshold for military use. The depth of the site and the natural protection offered by the mountain make the target extremely difficult to neutralise with conventional weapons.

Guardian sources report that Trump has been reassured about the effectiveness of the GBU-57, but doubts remain within the Pentagon. The Defence Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) believes that the bomb could “soften” the site, but does not guarantee total destruction. Only the use of a tactical nuclear weapon, according to some analysts, would give certain results: an option that Trump has already firmly ruled out.

The president is reportedly considering whether the mere threat of a US attack could push Tehran to the negotiating table, avoiding direct escalation. But uncertainty about the real ability to destroy Fordow in a single attack remains the central issue.

‘It wouldn’t be a one-shot deal,’ retired General Randy Manner, former deputy director of the DTRA, told The Guardian, pointing out that the GBU-57 has never been used in such a scenario.

The final decision rests with the president, who is well aware that a partial failure, or an attack perceived as ineffective, could strengthen the Iranian regime rather than weaken it.

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