Donald Trump has given contradictory signals in the past few hours about the possibility of the United States supporting Israel in its attacks against Iran. "I might do it or I might not. Nobody knows what I’m going to do," said the President of the United States.
Although the leader also said that “it is not too late” for Iran to return to negotiations to limit its nuclear program and prevent it from building a bomb.
Why is it crucial for Israel that the United States attacks Iran?
Since Friday, Israel has carried out over a thousand attacks against Iran, primarily targeting its nuclear facilities, causing significant damage and even killing its top scientists. However, according to various reports, Israel has not been able to destroy Iran’s underground bases.
One of the main objectives is the Fordo facility, located near the city of Qom, the main uranium enrichment center needed to manufacture nuclear weapons. This complex is equipped with five tunnels and hidden 80 to 90 meters inside a mountain in the northwest of the country.
The United States is indicated as the only country that has the “bunker buster” bomb, the only one capable of destroying Iran’s underground nuclear facilities, weighing 30,000 pounds (almost 14,000 kilograms).
The Massive Ordnance Penetrator GBU-57 is capable of penetrating mountains and going through over 60 meters before exploding. Due to its weight, this bomb can only be carried by the American B-2 bombers, which Israel does not have.
The body of this bomb, about 6 meters long, constitutes more than 80 percent of its total weight. It must be dropped from a height of about 15 kilometers and can be redirected afterwards. Once it has penetrated the ground, the bomb’s detonator activates the warhead.
Why does the United States have this bomb?
The former US Army colonel Steve Ganyard explained in statements to the ABC television network that the MOP GBU-57 bomb was “specially designed to be used against targets in Iran and other places, like North Korea, that develop this type of weapons in underground facilities”, and that have large concrete walls.
The B-2 bombers adapted for launching this “bunker-busting” bomb are currently stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, and in case of deployment, they would take about 15 hours to reach Iran.