Satellite photos show aftermath of U.S. strikes on Iran nuclear sites

New satellite photos show the aftermath of the U.S. military strike that dropped multiple 30,000-pound “bunker-buster” bombs on Iran’s Fordo nuclear facility and hit two other key locations in Iran’s nuclear program. 

The stealth U.S. mission, dubbed “Operation Midnight Hammer,” struck three nuclear facilities in Iran — Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan — in the early hours of Sunday local time.

Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a Pentagon briefing Sunday that seven B-2 Spirit bombers each carried two of the bombs known as GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, or MOPs. Over 25 minutes, a total of 14 MOPs were dropped on two target areas at Fordo and Natanz, while Tomahawk missiles from a U.S. submarine targeted the Isfahan site, he said.

He said it was the first time those massive bombs have ever been used in an operation. 

“Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,” Caine said.

Satellite photos show impact of strikes on Fordo

Satellite images from Maxar Technologies, taken Sunday after the strikes, show damage to the mountainside where the underground nuclear site at Fordo is buried about 300 feet down. They can be compared to images of the same location taken before the strikes.

A layer of ash caused by the airstrikes can be seen across a large swath of the area.

The images by Maxar show several large diameter holes or craters on the top of the ridge over the underground complex.

Additionally, several of the tunnel entrances that lead to the underground facility appear blocked by dirt following the strikes.

Asked at the briefing whether any of Iran’s nuclear capability remains, Caine said, “I think (battle damage assessment) is still pending, and it would be way too early for me to comment on what may or may not still be there.”

Iran has yet to offer a damage assessment of the site. The United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency said in a social media post that it had seen “no increase in off-site radiation levels” in the wake of the U.S. strikes.

In a statement on Sunday to the U.N. Security Council, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said his team was unable to assess the underground damage at Fordo. Following the attacks, he said there’s a “window of opportunity to return to dialogue and diplomacy.”

“If that window closes, violence and destruction could reach unthinkable levels and the global non-proliferation regime as we know it could crumble and fall,” Grossi said.

Craters, destroyed buildings in Isfahan and Natanz

At Isfahan, which was targeted by about a dozen Tomahawk missiles, satellite images from Sunday show extensive building damage across the facility, compared to images taken June 16. The Israeli military had also heavily bombed Isfahan in recent days

Grossi told the UN Security Council that affected buildings include some related to the uranium conversion process. Entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appear to have been hit, the IAEA director general said.

At the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, a satellite image captured Sunday by Maxar shows an approximately 5.5-meter diameter hole or crater in the dirt directly over part of the underground military complex.

Natanz had been previously damaged by the first Israeli strikes on Iran on June 13.

Grossi confirmed Sunday that the fuel enrichment plant in Natanz had been hit again, with the U.S. confirming that it used ground-penetrating munitions. He said Iran has informed the nuclear watchdog there has been no increase in off-site radiation levels following the attacks. However, bombing nuclear facilities “could result in radioactive releases with grave consequence,” Grossi warned, urging “maximum restraint.”

U.S. military used decoys and deception in attack

President Trump announced Saturday evening that the U.S. had launched strikes against Iran. He said in a national address later Saturday night that the sites “have been completely and totally obliterated.”

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Sunday that the U.S. used decoy B-2 bombers, which flew west over the Pacific from their base in Missouri earlier Saturday, to throw off the Iranians from the true plans. The bombers actually involved in the strike took off on an eastward path, refueling several times on their way to the Middle East.

Hegseth added that the U.S. used other methods of deception to protect the B-2 bombers that dropped the 14 “bunker-buster” bombs. He said the tactics helped the U.S. drop the bombs without tipping off Iran’s fighter jets or its air missile systems.

“Our B-2s went in and out … and back without the world knowing at all,” Hegseth said. “In that way, it was historic. A strike that included the longest B-2 Spirit bomber mission since 2001, and the first operational employment of the MOP, a Massive Ordnance Penetrator.”