Satellite pictures taken after the American military attempted to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities showed new craters, holes on mountain ridges and collapsed tunnels – but did not reveal the kind of damage Donald Trump claimed was inflicted.
The images indicated damage on the ground but did not provide definitive proof the heavily fortified underground facilities were breached.
The US president had boasted that the nuclear facilities were “completely and totally obliterated” in the attack. “The biggest damage took place far below ground level,” he claimed. “Bullseye!!!”
The American military launched “Operation Midnight Hammer” in the early hours of Sunday to strike the nuclear facilities at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.
The attack reportedly involved dozens of aircraft and submarines firing “bunker buster” bombs and cruise missiles at the three targets.
Satellite pictures from Maxar Technologies showed several craters and new holes on top of the ridge at the Fordo underground complex as well as tunnel entrances blocked by dirt. A large support building remained undamaged.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said no one, including his UN nuclear watchdog, “is in a position to assess the underground damage at Fordo”.
The agency said there was no nuclear radiation release from the facility.
General Dan Caine, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, claimed the battle damage assessment was still pending. “It would be way too early for me to comment on what may or may not still be there,” he said.
Fordo is Iran’s second nuclear enrichment facility after the main complex at Natanz. It is buried deep underground and heavily fortified and estimated to contain 2,700 centrifuges for uranium enrichment.
A satellite picture of Natanz showed a new crater of about 5.5m in diameter. While the crater was clearly visible in the dirt, Maxar said in a statement, the imagery did not provide conclusive evidence the US strike had penetrated the underground structure about 40m below the surface and protected by a layer of concrete and steel 8m thick.
The attack on the Isfahan Nuclear Technology and Research Centre appeared to have struck some structures related to converting uranium and “entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material”, the UN nuclear watchdog said.
The facility had previously been bombed by Israel.
Iran is believed to have filled the tunnels at its nuclear sites ahead of the US strikes, blunting the effect of the American operation on Sunday.
An analysis of satellite images by the Institute for Science and International Security indicated that tunnels at the Isfahan site were likely filled ahead of the attack.
Images taken by Airbus and assessed by the Washington nonprofit showed trucks dumping soil into tunnels at the site on Friday.
“At least three of the four tunnel entrances are collapsed,” it said. “The status of the fourth one is unclear.”
