There has been much discussion and conflicting opinions on how much damage the U.S. “Operation Midnight Hammer” strikes did to Iran’s nuclear facilities, especially the underground site Fordow. President Trump and his team claim that the 14 bunker-busting bombs destroyed the place and left it inoperable, while the mainstream media has been working aggressively to say the attacks only set Iran’s nuclear dreams back by a few months.
Now there is fresh evidence that the late-night B-2 stealth bomber-led strikes caused plenty of destruction, and the Iranians are already trying to clean it up:
NEW FORDOW SATELLITE IMAGES
— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) June 29, 2025
Ongoing activity includes cranes, excavators at entrances and shafts
VIA 📷 @maxar
Collected June 29
“…new high-resolution satellite imagery today (June 29th) that reveals ongoing activity at and near the ventilation shafts and holes caused by… pic.twitter.com/MpjTxTU7LV
The rest of the tweet from independent journalist Catherine Herridge in full:
“…new high-resolution satellite imagery today (June 29th) that reveals ongoing activity at and near the ventilation shafts and holes caused by last week’s airstrikes on the Fordow fuel enrichment complex in Iran.
On today’s imagery, an excavator and several personnel are positioned immediately next to the northern shaft on the ridge above the underground complex.
The crane appears to be operating at the entrance to the shaft/hole. Several additional vehicles are also seen below the ridge and are parked along the access path that was built to access the site.”
I think we should tell the Iranians to get their equipment out of there right now or else we’ll blow it up too, but hey, I’m not in charge.
Related: The One Crucial Site Israel Still Needs to Take Out to Stop Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program
The strikes were meant to prevent the Islamic Republic from making a nuclear weapon, and even if the exact amount of devastation to Fordow is not known, it’s clear that there was plenty of pain inflicted:
The Fordow site, which is buried within a mountain near Qom, about 60 miles southwest of Tehran, was bombed by the U.S. on June 22, resulting in six prominent craters and a noticeable spread of grey debris, according to satellite photos.
On the following day, Israel confirmed it had conducted a second strike on Fordow, specifically targeting the roads leading to the facility. Iranian officials later acknowledged this attack.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters during a Pentagon briefing last Sunday that while all three Iranian nuclear sites targeted in the strike "sustained extremely severe damage and destruction," the full damage would take time to assess.
NEW SATELLITE IMAGES FROM FORDOW show activity near bombed ventilation shafts. “MAXAR collected new high-resolution satellite imagery today (June 29th) that reveals ongoing activity at and near the ventilation shafts and holes caused by last week’s airstrikes on the Fordow fuel… pic.twitter.com/GMDl08vYTi
— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) June 29, 2025
The $64,000 question now becomes, if the Iranians are successful in clearing the tunnels, will they find anything down there that hasn’t been blown to smithereens? I'm betting they'll find a hellscape waiting for them, and if so, they certainly won't admit it.
Even if they did discover some functioning machinery, who would ever feel safe operating it? After all, the U.S. could always make a return visit.
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