Why Iran’s nuclear capabilities can’t be wiped out even if Fordow is bombed
Despite calls for a military strike on Iran’s deeply-buried Fordow facility, experts warn that the country’s nuclear program is too entrenched, decentralized, and self-sustaining to be destroyed by force alone
TEHRAN, Iran (MNTV) – As tensions mount over Iran’s nuclear activities, international attention has turned once again to Fordow, an underground uranium enrichment facility buried beneath nearly 90 meters of rock.
Israeli media and officials have openly discussed the prospect of a strike, claiming it is a necessary step to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
However, analysts and nuclear experts are increasingly warning: even a successful bombing campaign at Fordow would not end Iran’s nuclear program.
The Fordow facility, while significant, is not the linchpin of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Instead, it represents a genius of Iran’s domestically-developed network of nuclear facilities, constructed in decentralized manner to sustain maximum attacks from US-Israel bombing axis.
Iran possesses uranium ore, enrichment know-how, centrifuge technology, and a cadre of trained nuclear scientists — all developed indigenously over decades.
“This is not a program you can bomb out of existence,” said Middle East analyst Iyad el-Baghdadi in a recent thread widely shared on social media. “It’s like trying to stop a country from baking bread by bombing one bakery.”
Fordow’s strategic importance lies in its location, not its exclusivity. Built under a mountain to resist airstrikes, the site presents a unique challenge: only U.S.-made bunker-buster bombs can seriously damage it.
This raises the tremendous alarm, as any military operation to destroy Fordow would require U.S. involvement, and likely trigger a broader regional war, jeopardizing diminishing peace in Middle East.
Experts warn such a strike would not be surgical, but a multi-day air campaign involving dozens of coordinated attacks and risking retaliation from Iran’s missile arsenal.
But even if Fordow were reduced to rubble, Iran’s ability to rebuild is resilient. Enrichment can be restarted at other locations, many of which are already operational.
The scientific expertise and industrial base behind the nuclear program cannot be eliminated with bombs. Past Israeli operations, including sabotage at Natanz, have slowed progress, but not stopped it.
Adding to the complexity is the strategic logic behind Iran’s program, which has long centered on deterrence, sovereignty, and bargaining power.
Iran has signaled that it seeks leverage, not war — trading nuclear capacity for sanctions relief. Since the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal, Iran has escalated its enrichment but has not definitively pursued a nuclear weapon, suggesting a calculated rather than apocalyptic strategy.
Experts argue that the desperate push by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to strike Fordow has less to do with stopping nuclear proliferation and more to do with provoking American military intervention.
“Focusing on Fordow is about dragging the U.S. in,” Baghdadi explained. A campaign against the site would all but guarantee U.S. involvement, drawing Gulf states and global oil markets into the fray.
Israel’s war with Iran, presenting Israel as region’s watchman, will only bring chaos and destruction in the already volatile Middle East, including the death and destruction at Israel’s doors too.
Ultimately, military strikes may delay Iran’s nuclear timeline, but not erase it. Diplomacy, not destruction, remains the only sustainable solution to contain proliferation risks in the region.
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