‘Flurry of Activity’ At Iran’s Fordow Nuclear Site

Key Points and Summary – More than a week after the US bombed Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility, the true extent of the damage remains highly contested.

-President Trump insists the site was “obliterated,” but new satellite imagery shows Iranian crews with excavators and cranes actively assessing the impact craters.

-This activity follows a leaked US intelligence report suggesting the strikes only set back Iran’s program by months, and a separate report of an intercepted call where Iranian officials allegedly called the attack “less devastating than they had expected.”

-While the White House dismisses these reports, the evidence suggests a complex reality far from Trump’s claims of total destruction.

Fordow: What Is Going on At Iran’s Nuclear Site?

Was the Fordow nuclear site, which was struck by U.S. planes and bunker-buster bombs over a week ago, really “obliterated”? That’s the question being debated around the world.

President Donald Trump and his various supporters have insisted since the night of the strikes that Fordow and all of the other nuclear sites struck that day were “obliterated.” The Fordow site, situated inside a mountain, was considered especially fortified and difficult to attack, with the Massive Ordnance Penetrators, 12 of which were dropped by U.S. forces, believed to be the only weapon possibly capable of striking it.

The president and other officials have also insisted that it is wrong to suggest that the sites were not destroyed, and have proceeded to cast aspersions both on journalistic outlets that have reported to the contrary, as well as their sources. The White House has even sought to imply that those who have expressed ambiguity about the success of the strikes are directly insulting the pilots who carried them out.

So what’s the truth? That remains unclear. The most recent news report indicates that Iran is looking into the question itself.

According to the New York Times, satellite images taken of the Fordow site in the days after the attack show “a flurry of activity,” indicating that Iran is conducting their own investigation into the extent of the damage.

“New roads can be seen constructed to the points where U.S. bombs struck the top of the mountain, and an apparent crane and an excavator seem to be working near one of the impact sites,” according to the newspaper, which cited satellite images from Maxar Technologies.

Evaluating the Holes at Fordow

“It appears that they’re evaluating the hole, evaluating how deep it went,” Joseph S. Bermudez, senior fellow for imagery analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the Times. “The images are showing us that the Iranians are beginning the process of investigating what happened and what level of damage the facility has.”

The report said that the images show Iran beginning repairs shortly after the strike, although not appearing to start any major reconstruction efforts.

“It looks to me like they’re examining the impact of the event rather than doing any thing more substantial like carrying out repairs or recovery. I don’t think I see any evidence of that,” Peter McDonald, a director at Viper Applied Science, told the Times, citing the satellite images.

Was It Obliterated?

The actual truth of whether Iran’s nuclear capabilities have been destroyed or merely dealt a setback remains unknown and will likely remain unknown for a while. Whether Iran even had an active weapons program at the time of the strikes also remains an open question.

Last week, CNN reported on the existence of a preliminary report from the Defense Intelligence Agency, which suggested that the strikes did not destroy Iran’s nuclear sites, and may have only set the program back by months.

The Washington Post reported over the weekend on an intercepted call between top Iranian officials, in which they were heard “discussing this month’s U.S. military strikes on Iran’s nuclear program and remarking that the attack was less devastating than they had expected” and that the strikes “were not as destructive and extensive as they had anticipated.”

The Post report cited “four people familiar with the classified intelligence circulating within the U.S. government.”

The White House has not denied that the communication is real, but has once again criticized the people who leaked it to the press.

“It’s shameful that The Washington Post is helping people commit felonies by publishing out-of-context leaks,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Post in the story. “The notion that unnamed Iranian officials know what happened under hundreds of feet of rubble is nonsense. Their nuclear weapons program is over.”

About the Author:

Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.

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