New satellite images published Tuesday by CNN reveal significant and targeted damage to the Fordow uranium enrichment facility caused by U.S. airstrikes last week. The visuals suggest Iranian teams are already attempting to resume activity at the site — but are struggling to access deeper levels.
According to the report, Iranian personnel have returned to the Fordow nuclear site and are seen using heavy machinery to dig directly above the strike-damaged shafts. Several vehicles are parked along a newly constructed path, indicating ongoing activity.
CNN emphasized “persistent activity around the ventilation shafts,” suggesting Iran is assessing the extent of the damage — and possibly initiating early reconstruction. However, current satellite imagery shows the craters remain open, no clear entry into the tunnels is visible, and there are no signs of active uranium enrichment.
Precision and Impact of the U.S. Strike
The American strike was carried out about a week ago using B-2 bombers that deployed MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator) bunker-busting bombs, designed to burrow into the mountain and detonate inside the underground complex. According to Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Cane, it was “a direct hit aimed at penetrating the main shaft at over 1,000 feet per second and exploding inside the mission space.”
Experts, including former nuclear inspector David Albright, say Iran is now focused on engineering assessments, data gathering, and possibly radiological sampling. Albright noted that “the craters above the main shafts remain open,” meaning restoration is far from complete.
