The威力can penetrate 60 meters of concrete... Will Trump drop a super-large bunker-buster on Iran?

On the 16th, The New York Times reported that Trump returned home early from the G7 summit in Canada... or call for an NSC meeting.

In the face of escalating armed conflict between Israel and Iran, The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 16th that U.S. President Donald Trump may consider dropping a super-large bunker-buster to destroy Iran's underground nuclear facilities.

That day, Trump decided to return home early from the G7 summit in Canada due to the Middle East situation. It is understood that after returning to the White House, he will immediately convene a National Security Council (NSC) meeting in the Situation Room.

According to NYT reports, Trump has instructed Vice President J.D. Vance and Middle East envoy Steve Witkow to propose talks with Iran to Iranian representatives this week. If dialogue resumes, Iran is likely to send Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi as a negotiator.

NYT stated that if the above diplomatic efforts fail or Iran refuses Trump's demand to stop all uranium enrichment activities, there is no guarantee that Trump will order the destruction of Iran's nuclear facilities.

Iran's nuclear facilities are located deep underground in the FORDU mountainous area. The U.S.'s super-large bunker-buster GBU-57 MOP is almost the only weapon capable of destroying them without ground combat. This bunker-buster has tremendous striking power and can penetrate up to 60 meters of concrete before exploding. The munition weighs 13 tons and must be delivered by a U.S. Air Force B-2 stealth bomber.

In the past two years, under the close supervision of the White House, the U.S. military has been preparing to destroy the FORDU facility. Simulation results show that one bomb cannot destroy FORDU, so plans have been made to use multiple B-2 bombers to drop bombs continuously.

Previously, Israel requested support from the U.S. for the GBU-57 bunker-buster. In recent months, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu often mentioned the use of bunker-busters when speaking with Trump.

However, it is understood that Trump has always avoided direct responses to this issue. Approving the use of bunker-busters would mean the U.S. directly participating in the war in the Middle East. However, during his campaign, Trump repeatedly emphasized that he would not send U.S. soldiers to fight overseas wars.

If the U.S. supports Israel's attack, Iran may retaliate directly. On the 11th, before the Israeli air strike, Iranian Defense Minister Ali Akbar Velayati stated: "All U.S. military bases within our territory are within our range," threatening to attack U.S. bases if conflicts arise.

However, if Trump refuses to support the bunker-busters, Israel will find it difficult to achieve its core goal of eliminating Iran's nuclear weapons development capability. There are opinions that cutting off the electricity supply to the FORDU nuclear facility could cause centrifuges to spin out of control, potentially damaging them, but the effect is uncertain.

Regarding the FORDU nuclear facility, former White House National Security Council (NSC) Middle East and North Africa Coordinator Brett McGurk stated: "This has always been the most critical issue. If this round of conflict ends and FORDU continues to conduct enrichment activities, it cannot be said that strategic results have been achieved."

Source: Chosun Ilbo

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1835160008955911/

Disclaimer: This article represents the views of the author alone.