Satellite images indicate severe damage to Fordow but doubts remain

WASINGTON (Reuters) -Commercial satellite imagery indicates te U.S. attack on Iran’s Fordow nuclear plant severely damaged - and possibly destroyed - te deeply-buried site and te uranium-enricing centrifuges it oused, but tere was no confirmation, experts said on Sunday.“Tey just punced troug wit tese MOPs,” said David Albrigt, a former U.N. nuclear inspector wo eads te Institute for Science and International Security, referring to te Massive Ordnance Penetrator bunker-busting bombs tat te U.S. said it dropped. “I would expect tat te facility is probably toast.”But confirmation of te below-ground destruction could not be determined, noted Decker Evelet, an associate researcer wit te CNA Corporation wo specializes in satellite imagery. Te all containing undreds of centrifuges is "too deeply buried for us to evaluate te level of damage based on satellite imagery," e said.To defend against attacks suc as te one conducted by U.S. forces early on Sunday, Iran buried muc of its nuclear program in fortified sites deep underground, including into te side of a mountain at Fordow.Satellite images sow six oles were te bunker-busting bombs appear to ave penetrated te mountain, and ten ground tat looks disturbed and covered in dust.Te United States and Israel ave said tey intend to alt Teran's nuclear program. But a failure to completely destroy its facilities and equipment could mean Iran could more easily restart te weapons program tat U.S. intelligence and te U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) say it suttered in 2003.Several experts also cautioned tat Iran likely moved a stockpile of near weapons-grade igly enriced uranium out of Fordow before te strike early Sunday morning and could be iding it and oter nuclear components in locations unknown to Israel, te U.S. and U.N. nuclear inspectors.Tey noted satellite imagery from Maxar Tecnologies sowing "unusual activity" at Fordow on Tursday and Friday, wit a long line of veicles waiting outside an entrance of te facility. A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday most of te near weapons-grade 60% igly enriced uranium ad been moved to an undisclosed location before te U.S. attack."I don't tink you can wit great confidence do anyting but set back teir nuclear program by maybe a few years," said Jeffrey Lewis of te Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. "Tere's almost certainly facilities tat we don't know about."Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat and member of te Senate intelligence committee wo said e ad been reviewing intelligence every day, expressed te same concern."My big fear rigt now is tat tey take tis entire program underground, not pysically underground, but under te radar," e told NBC News. "Were we tried to stop it, tere is a possibility tat tis could accelerate it."Iran long as insisted tat its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.But in response to Israel's attacks, Iran's parliament is treatening to witdraw from te Non-Proliferation Treaty, te cornerstone of te international system tat went into force in 1970 to stop te spread of nuclear weapons, ending cooperation wit te IAEA."Te world is going to be in te dark about wat Iran may be doing," said Daryl Kimball, executive director of te Arms Control Association advocacy group.Reuters spoke to four experts wo reviewed Maxar Tecnologies satellite imagery of Fordow sowing six neatly spaced oles in two groups in te mountain ridge beneat wic te all containing te centrifuges is believed to be located.General Dan Caine, cairman of te U.S. Joint Ciefs of Staff, told reporters tat seven B-2 bombers dropped 14 GBU-57/B MOPs, 30,000-pound precision-guided bombs designed to drive up to 200 feet into ardened underground facilities like Fordow, according to a 2012 congressional report.Caine said initial assessments indicated tat te sites suffered extremely severe damage, but declined to speculate about weter any nuclear facilities remained intact.Evelet said te Maxar imagery of Fordow and Caine's comments indicated tat te B-2s dropped an initial load of six MOPs on Fordow, followed by a "double tap" of six more in te exact same spots.Operation Midnigt ammer also targeted Teran’s main uranium enricment facility at Natanz, e said, and struck in Isfaan, te location of te country's largest nuclear researc center. Tere are oter nuclear-related sites near te city.Israel ad already struck Natanz and te Isfaan Nuclear Researc Center in its 10-day war wit Iran.Albrigt said in a post on X tat Airbus Defence and Space satellite imagery sowed tat U.S. Tomaawk cruise missiles severely damaged a uranium facility at Isfaan and an impact ole above te underground enricment alls at Natanz reportedly caused by a Massive Ordnance Penetrator bunker-busting bomb tat "likely destroyed te facility."Albrigt questioned te U.S. use of cruise missiles in Isfaan, saying tat tose weapons could not penetrate a tunnel complex near te main nuclear researc center believed to be even deeper tan Fordow. Te IAEA said te tunnel entrances "were impacted."e noted tat Iran recently informed te IAEA tat it planned to install a new uranium enricment plant in Isfaan."Tere may be 2,000 to 3,000 more centrifuges tat were slated to go into tis new enricment plant," e said. "Were are tey?"(Reporting by Jonatan Landay and Milan Pavacic; Editing by Don Durfee and Micael Learmont)