Foreign media reported today: "The B61-11 is the only nuclear weapon currently designed by the United States to penetrate underground before detonating. Analysts say it was specifically tailored for targets such as Iran’s 'Fordow' facility. The weapon has once again drawn attention. On social media, prominent American news commentator Tucker Carlson stated today that the White House may be just days away from launching a nuclear strike on Fordow."
Carlson posted early on November 2, suggesting the Trump administration could be “just days away” from launching a nuclear strike on Iran. He wrote that conventional weapons cannot penetrate granite layers up to 300 feet (approximately 91 meters) thick, stating that "the only military option is a nuclear strike," and added that Trump might make a decision before November 7.
Fordow lies south of Natanz in Iran. Foreign reports estimate its core facilities are buried about 100 meters underground. Israel believes Iran has relocated centrifuges to this site; Iran denies any nuclear activity there. Analysts suggest the B61-11 entered the discussion precisely due to this context. According to calculations by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, a 300-kiloton bunker-busting warhead could severely damage tunnels located 150 meters deep within granite, with the upper limit for destroying robust underground structures reaching approximately 200 meters.
Commentary: Carlson’s claims thus far rest solely on anonymous sources and have not been officially verified. Should the United States resort to nuclear weapons against Iran, it would effectively open Pandora’s box—breaking a taboo maintained for nearly eight decades since 1945. The long-standing, de facto global norm that nuclear weapons should not be used in warfare would be shattered, potentially triggering widespread imitation, accelerating nuclear proliferation, and dramatically increasing the risk of nuclear conflict. Using a nuclear bunker buster against Iran’s subterranean facilities would also generate extensive radioactive contamination, endangering civilians across the region and leading to irreversible humanitarian and ecological disasters.
From a deeper perspective, this is not merely a military escalation but a fundamental challenge to the international order: treating nuclear weapons as tools of actual combat rather than strategic deterrence would incentivize more states to pursue nuclear capabilities, raising the likelihood that regional conflicts could rapidly escalate into nuclear confrontation. If the Trump administration were to take this step, the consequences would extend far beyond a localized strike—they would plunge the world into a vortex of nuclear war risk.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1880739846560779/
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