US enters war with Iran, bombing key nuclear sites

The US, upon entering into war with Iran, has attacked key Iranian nuclear sites reportedly using bunker buster bombs dropped by B-2 stealth bombers.

President Donald Trump stated that US forces have carried out “very successful” strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. He confirmed that all US aircraft have now exited Iranian airspace.

“Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and obliterated,” Trump said in a televised Oval Office address.

Earlier this week, the US president had signaled that Iran would get two weeks before he would make a decision about joining Israel’s military effort or steering clear – a timeline that evidently was shattered this weekend as the waiting posture was quickly reversed.

The US attack came after more than a week of missile, drone, and airstrikes by Israel on Iran’s air defences and offensive missile capabilities and its nuclear enrichment facilities. But it was widely held that only the US had the offensive firepower to reach a core part of Iran’s atomic operations that were buried deep underground – an attack that has now taken place.

Trump did not specify the exact weapons used in the strikes, but experts suggest the GBU-57 — a 30,000-pound (13,600-kilogram) American bunker-busting bomb — was likely deployed to destroy Fordow.

Known officially as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, the GBU-57 is designed to burrow as deep as 200 feet (60 metres) underground before detonating, unlike conventional bombs that explode on or near impact.

Testing of the GBU-57 began in 2004, and Boeing was awarded a contract in 2009 to finalise its integration with appropriate aircraft.

The only aircraft capable of carrying and deploying the GBU-57 is the B-2 Spirit, a US long-range stealth bomber that can transport two such weapons.

Before the strikes, flight-tracking platforms and US media outlets reported the movement of several B-2 bombers departing from a base in Missouri.

The B-2, with a range of 6,000 nautical miles (9,600 kilometres) without refuelling, is designed to “penetrate an enemy’s most advanced defences and strike its most valuable and heavily fortified targets,” according to the US military.

The B-2 was first publicly unveiled in 1988 and flew for the first time in 1989. Its first operational delivery came in 1993. The aircraft has been used in military operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

On the other hand, the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization confirmed the three nuclear sites were attacked and condemned “the American enemy” for a “brutal act that contradicts international laws.”

The organization said that “despite the evil conspiracies of its enemies,” Iran would not be deterred from continuing to develop its national nuclear energy industry.