The US could use its 30,000lb ‘bunker buster’ bombs against Iran’s Fordo nuclear site
Donald Trump has insisted his dramatic early exit from the G7 summit has nothing to do with working on a ceasefire for the escalating Iran-Israel crisis.
The exact reason for US President’s departure from Canada on Air Force One is unclear, but focus has sharpened on how his administration may now intervene in the conflict.
Now all eyes are on whether Washington may assist Israel militarily in attacks on Iran’s nuclear capabilities, with Trump dismissing claims his G7 withdrawal is related to a ceasefire, saying instead that it is due to something “much bigger”.
Here are some of the options that are on the table:
1. Bunker bombing of nuclear site
The US could help Israel destroy Iran’s nuclear enrichment facility at Fordo, south of Tehran, with their largest bunker buster bombs fired by B-2 stealth bombers.
Buried an estimated 250-ft below a mountain and protected by anti-aircraft batteries, the core of Iran’s nuclear capability lies at Fordo.
Destroying it would require either the US’s Massive Ordnance Penetrator bunker buster or a special mission by Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged the US to make their bunker bombs available since the George W Bush administration, but the US has resisted.
However, Trump is facing renewed pressure from Israel and some Republicans to step in, with Senator Lindsey Graham urging the President to ensure “there’s nothing left standing in Iran regarding their nuclear programme”, adding: “If that means providing bombs, provide bombs.
What are bunker busters capable of?
- The 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator, known as the GBU-57, have a thick steel case and contain a smaller amount of explosives than other bombs of a similar size.
- It uses a delayed fuse to ensure it detonates after punching deep into the surface, and is believed to be able to penetrate up to 200ft before exploding.
- The heavy metal casings allow the bomb to stay intact as it travels through soil, rock or concrete.
- US war planning has concluded that an attack on Fordo would need to be in waves, with B-2s releasing several bombs in succession down the same hole.
Any US military involvement would represent a huge escalation which analysts say could lead to Iran striking US troops and targets.
Iranian officials have also warned that US involvement in an attack would risk any chance of a nuclear disarmament deal.
2. Trump could push ahead with diplomacy
Trump swore during two election campaigns that he would avoid wars, declaring at his inauguration in January that he would be a “peacemaker and unifier”.
Since then his officials have held several rounds of talks with Iranian officials with the aim of agreeing to a new deal that would halt Tehran’s nuclear programme.
He is adamant he wants a “real deal” to end the nuclear problem with Iran and indicated he may send senior US officials to meet with the Islamic Republic.
He said “I may”, on the prospect of sending US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff or Vice President JD Vance to meet Iran.
But Trump said he was not looking at a ceasefire between Iran and Israel and that he had not reached out to Tehran for any peace talks.
“If they want to talk, they know how to reach me. They should have taken the deal that was on the table – Would have saved a lot of lives,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Speaking on Air Force One after cutting short his G7 visit, he said he wants “better than a ceasefire” and “a real end”, which may include “a complete give-up” from Iran of its nuclear programme.
3. ‘Drop Israel’
While most Republicans in Congress continue to support Israel, some within Trump’s Maga movement want him to stop backing the US’s main Middle East ally.
It has led to a split developing between traditional Republicans and those within Maga who want a more isolationist foreign policy.
Last week, broadcaster Tucker Carlson, a staunch ally of Trump, said the US should “drop Israel” and “let them fight their own wars”.
Another Trump loyalist, House Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, wrote: “Anyone slobbering for the US to become fully involved in the Israel/Iran war is not America First/Maga”.
With Trump aware of the impact on his domestic support, he may choose to heed the Maga voices, but the schism places him at a crossroads.
Others in Trump’s camp are urging him to push back, with Ambassador Mike Huckabee, the President’s envoy to Israel, posting on X: “If you hear ‘Israel is no concern to USA’ remember 700,000 AMERICANS live in Israel.”
