A top expert on the Iran nuclear program believes the regime’s atomic program has been obliterated by Saturday night’s strikes by the United States.
‘The nuclear program is no longer,’ Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a ‘national security and foreign policy’ think tank, told Fox News Digital.
‘Sources in Israel report with high confidence that this chapter is over. Responsible parties must still remove nuclear materials from the facility in Isfahan. But that appears to be the final page to turn,’ he continued.
President Donald Trump said during his address on Saturday night that ‘Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.’
Fox News reported earlier on that Isfahan was ‘the hardest target,’ according to a senior U.S. official.
‘Everyone was talking about and focused on Fordow, but Isfahan was actually the hardest target,’ the official said on background. The U.S. used B-2 bombers to carry out the mission.
A senior U.S. official also told Fox News that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu communicated after the strikes and that Israel had been informed ahead of time.
Lisa Daftari, Iran expert and Editor-in-Chief of The Foreign Desk, told Fox News Digital, ‘Both Israeli and U.S. officials understand that anything less than total destruction of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure will only result in a temporary pause, not a permanent end. But to truly end Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the U.S. and its allies must commit to a campaign—beyond these targeted strikes—backed by sustained pressure, intelligence, and the credible threat of further action if Iran attempts to rebuild.
‘To ensure the eradication of the regime’s nuclear weapons capability, the U.S. must maintain persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to detect any attempts by Iran’s regime to disperse, hide or rebuild its nuclear infrastructure. This would be coupled with continued diplomatic isolation and strict multilateral sanctions blocking the regime’s access to nuclear technology, materials and financing,’ she said.
Trump announced that the U.S. had struck nuclear sites in Iran – a major development amid rising tensions in the region, as Israel and Iran continued to launch airstrikes against each other.
‘We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,’ Trump posted to Truth Social on Saturday night.
‘All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter,’ he continued.
Fox News’ Sean Hannity said on Saturday night that President Donald Trump had given him details on the U.S. strikes in Iran. According to the ‘Hannity’ host, the U.S. used six bunker-buster bombs — each of which weighs 15 tons — in its strikes on Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility. The bombs were dropped from American B-2 stealth bombers.
During a press conference on Sunday morning, the number of bunker busters used was updated to 14 by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Caine.
‘President Trump took decisive leadership and action to eliminate the last vestiges of Iran’s nuclear weapons program, after Israel’s sustained strikes, which seriously damaged the atomic weapons supply chain from uranium conversion to enrichment, and all the way to weaponization,’ Andrea Stricker, FDD’s Director of Nonproliferation and Biological Weapons told Fox News Digital.
‘While Tehran’s program is likely set back by years, the United States and Israel need to ensure the regime’s highly enriched uranium stockpiles and all secret advanced centrifuges are fully recovered and destroyed — which means more work ahead,’ she added.
Fordow had two entrances and one ventilation shaft, which likely served as the entrance points for the Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs).
Additionally, 30 Tomahawk missiles launched from U.S. submarines were used in the attacks on the Nanatz and Isfahan facilities. There is speculation that the missiles were shot from an Ohio Class Submarine, but there has been no confirmation.
Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.