The US Department of Defense has released videos of the attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, following a period of conflicting reports regarding the impact of the attacks. While some reports point to considerable damage to Iran’s nuclear program, others suggest the damage was minimal, with claims that Iran may have moved uranium from the targeted sites before the strikes.
At a Thursday press briefing, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, explained the details of the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. The released footage showcased bunker buster bombs hitting the Fordow nuclear site.
The video footage, shown by Gen. Caine, showed the bunker buster bombs hitting the Fordow site. Secretary Hegseth contradicted an intelligence report that downplayed the impact of the strikes, emphasizing the scale of destruction with words like “decimating,” “obliterating,” and “destroying.” The footage, however, didn’t fully capture the specific effects of the bunker-buster bombs on the ground.
Gen Caine explained that the impact of a bomb results from three effects: blast, fragmentation, and overpressure. He elaborated that the primary mechanisms of destruction in the mission were a combination of overpressure and blast.
US and Israeli sources have claimed that three Iranian nuclear sites were severely damaged. President Donald Trump stated that the US Air Force attacks had obliterated the sites. However, Iran has acknowledged the US strikes but minimized the extent of the damage.